(Motorsport-Total.com) – For the first time in six years, Formula 1 returned to Germany this week: Mercedes and McLaren were on track for two days as part of a Pirelli tire test at the Nürburgring. Could this perhaps also make the return of a German Grand Prix a realistic scenario?
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The drivers certainly have no objections. “I would love to race here again one day,” reveals Mercedes driver George Russell in an interview with Sky. “We currently don’t have a race in Germany. It would be nice to have one back on the calendar with Mercedes.”
“I really enjoyed driving,” adds the Brit, who completed a total of 127 laps on the first test day. “I love the Nürburgring very much. I also did a few laps on the Nordschleife, which I really like. It is a traditional race track.”
While Russell was already racing in Formula 1 for Williams at the last German F1 race in 2020, McLaren driver Oscar Piastri was still competing in junior series. “I haven’t been here for a long time, 2019 was the last time,” recalls the Australian, who was racing in the Formula Renault Eurocup back then and won two races in the Eifel.
Piastri: Nürburgring is an “Oldschool Track”
“The track is very oldschool, it is quite bumpy in many places,” says Piastri to Sky and adds: “The curbs are very special, especially the curbs at the corner exits. There is hardly any room for mistakes, everywhere there is grass and gravel. That’s nice.”
“Parts of the layout are very demanding, and I think for a Formula 1 car it almost feels small compared to some other tracks we race on today. But it’s always cool to come back to some of these historic tracks.”
No wonder that Piastri would basically not reject a Formula 1 return to the Nürburgring either. “Sure, I wouldn’t mind,” emphasizes the McLaren driver. “It’s not my absolute favorite track, but in a way it’s a really cool place because of its uniqueness.”
“There are many elevation changes, obviously the history of this place is also very special, and again the track is very oldschool, which the drivers like. We drivers always enjoy that aspect, especially with the layout.”
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“It also has to make economic sense for the Nürburgring”
But how realistic is a Formula 1 race at the Nürburgring at all? “What we have always said is that we need something with perspective,” emphasizes Nürburgring press spokesman Alexander Gerhard to Sky. “For long-term talks with perspective, we are always open and that is exactly the position.”
At the end of the day, it must “make economic sense for the race track,” adds Gerhard. “You have to reach an agreement and that has not yet materialized.” Formula 1 boss Stefano Domenicali had already revealed last year that there are currently no talks – neither with the Nürburgring nor with Hockenheim.
To seriously consider a Formula 1 race in Germany again, a lot would have to change: It has to be worthwhile for the Nürburgring as well as for Formula 1 and “not that you have to buy Formula 1 and barely have refinancing potential,” emphasizes the press spokesman.
“We are extremely successful, the race tracks are 100 percent booked. So we are very satisfied with our business model and if we could find a long-term construct with Formula 1, we would certainly be ready,” says Gerhard. “But it also has to make economic sense for the Nürburgring.”
Ralf Schumacher waves it off: “That only makes limited sense”
The entry fee for a Formula 1 race in Germany is currently estimated at around 20 to 30 million euros, which can hardly be refinanced by ticket sales alone. No support is expected from German politics either.
“The costs are immense and then such a track really has to work almost the whole year to get that back,” says Ralf Schumacher in the current Sky podcast Backstage Boxengasse. “And that only makes limited sense.”
Other racing events, but also test drives and safety training, take place on the race tracks throughout the year. “They are fully booked,” Schumacher knows. “But sure, I would still find it nice to have a German Grand Prix again.” A wish that will probably remain a dream for now…
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