No Formula 1 comeback for Nurburgring: financial hurdles block return. The Nurburgring drops plans to return to the F1 calendar.

No Formula 1 for the Nurburgring: efforts to bring the “GP-Strecke” back on the calendar have been abandoned. A hard blow for fans who were still hoping for the grand return of the German circuit. Hopes for Germany now rest on Hockenheim, which is also working on a circuit redevelopment plan. Europe loses another piece, while awaiting the final word on Imola’s farewell.

While Africa, Asia, and America are pushing to host more and more rounds of the Formula 1 World Championship, Europe continues to lose ground. A natural evolution, of course: the Circus is growing and attracting increasingly distant markets, which also want (and deserve) a place in the top series. And so, tracks like Imola are forced to say goodbye, while talks continue, for example, about a second race in China.

Demand is extremely high and the supply—limited by a calendar that can include a maximum of twenty-four races—remains very restricted. The laws of economics teach us that, in such cases, prices rise. And so, circuits like the Nurburgring, which had long been exploring a possible return to the calendar, are forced to give up: “With ticket sales alone, we couldn’t recover the costs.”

Farewell to the Nurburgring: all a matter of costs
In an interview with the Kölner Express, the director of the Nurburgring, Ingo Boder, explained the reasons behind the decision: “According to the current model, we, as circuit operators, would have to buy Formula 1 as a race format and cover the costs through ticket sales. It’s an almost impossible task: all commercial rights belong to Formula 1.”

“Moreover, all track infrastructure would be blocked for about two weeks due to logistics operations and the assembly and disassembly of structures, and it couldn’t be used or marketed for other purposes during that period. For these reasons, the project is not suitable for us as a private company.”