(Motorsport-Total.com) – Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali recently spoke at a press conference about reviving the German Grand Prix. He said: “For the first time, we are considering the possibility of bringing the race back in the medium term.”
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Of the two current FIA Grade 1 race tracks in Germany, Domenicali mentioned only one directly: the Hockenheimring. “They are currently pursuing a somewhat different direction in motorsport there,” Domenicali explained. “However, if we want to seriously talk about a return, other investments would be necessary because our platform has high requirements.”
In Hockenheim, they have so far remained reserved on this. Hockenheimring managing directors Jorn Teske and Jochen Nerpel explained in response to Motorsport-Total.com inquiries that they are “in regular contact with Formula 1,” but currently “cannot communicate any new concrete results or perspectives.”
Nürburgring: Unchanged stance on Formula 1
The Nürburgring, as the host of the last Grand Prix on German soil, seems to play no role in the current considerations of Formula 1. Nürburgring managing director Christian Stephani stated in response to Motorsport-Total.com: “No one has approached us.” Conversely, the Nürburgring has also not approached Formula 1.
“We are always open to an exchange, but we are already fully booked for the upcoming season. Our focus is on planning our special 100-year anniversary, during which there will be a big fan event in June 2027,” said Stephani.
Furthermore, the Nürburgring’s stance on Formula 1 has not changed: “We remain open to a return of Formula 1 – provided the financial framework conditions are right.”
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How a Formula 1 comeback in Germany could succeed
Primarily because the financial framework conditions no longer fit, there has been no Formula 1 race in Germany since 2020. At that time, the Nürburgring hosted the Eifel Grand Prix once as a replacement venue during the Corona pandemic. The year before, the Hockenheimring held the last German Grand Prix to date.
Although there is a willingness for a revival, Hockenheimring managing director Teske said in April to the Hockenheimer Tageszeitung: “Financial support from outside is definitely needed – major partners and sponsors or the public sector. Motorsport associations and manufacturers could also contribute. The whole thing would only work as a joint project.”
Even then, according to Teske, a Formula 1 comeback in Hockenheim would “only be feasible in the long term in rotation with other European locations” – that is, as a rotating race that appears in the Formula 1 calendar, for example, every two years. Barcelona and Spa-Francorchamps serve as models, which will alternate annually in the future.
According to the operators’ ideas, Formula 1 would still only be one component among many for the Hockenheimring. “Above all, we want to grow sustainably, invest, and be able to compare ourselves with the best race tracks worldwide,” Teske said in April. “Primarily, it is about making the Hockenheimring fit for the future: as an industrial location, as an event venue, and as a platform for innovation.”
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