The German Grand Prix is once again fighting for survival, with Formula One’s chief executive Bernie Ecclestone declaring that a decision on this year’s event in July will be made by the weekend.
The failure of the event in Germany is one of the sport’s enduring mysteries given the country has in Mercedes the dominant team in modern F1 and two of the leading drivers of the current era in Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel. Then, of course, there is Michael Schumacher, the most successful driver in the history of the sport with seven world championships and 91 GP victories.
But at Hockenheim last year there were just 52,000 spectators on race day, with only 45,000 at the Nürburgring the year before.
“I am sorry that there will not be a Formula One race in Germany,” Ecclestone told the Rhein-Zeitung newspaper on Monday. “It is just a case that as the attendance has been so low for the last few years that it is not commercially viable for the promoters in Germany.
“They have not been selling enough tickets to make it work. It’s purely commercial, so I’m trying to be a little bit helpful to them. We’re trying to rescue it, but I can’t guarantee we will. We are doing our best, and maybe by this weekend we’ll have an answer. I hope so.”
Since 2007, the venue for the German GP has alternated between Hockenheim and the Nürburgring. According to Ecclestone it is likely to remain at the former having been held there last year but a final deal with the venue has yet to be confirmed. He said: “If we do something it is looking like Hockenheim will probably be the most likely venue. The Nürburgring has just been sold again [in October] for the third time and a Russian guy [Viktor Kharitonin] has bought it.
“When everybody thinks of a Russian owner there is plenty of money, but I met him the other day and I don’t think he is enthusiastic for putting in the money. He would like the race, obviously, which is why he bought the bloody place.
“The bottom line is there is still a chance and we hope to know more by the weekend.”
