The Nurburgring and Hockenheim alternate as hosts of the German Grand Prix because they find it too expensive to do it every year. Yet because the circuits struggle to make the races work on financial grounds, Lewis Hamilton and co increasingly race in the likes of Bahrain and, from next year, Azerbaijan.īut who, honestly, thinks it is better to have a race in an oil-rich Caspian state with a questionable human rights record than in the biggest economy in Europe? But are Germans falling out of love with F1? Hockenheim 1995: Michael Schumacher became the first German to win his home race since 1939Īfter all, F1's soul is in Europe, as well as much of its television audience. Many within F1 believe Ecclestone's priorities are out of whack, that too much focus is given to profit and not enough to what is good for the sport. But then that's what people thought about Germany, too. To many, an F1 calendar without Monza is unthinkable. So much for the value of heritage and history.Įcclestone has also said he will not renew Italy's deal when it expires next year, claiming it was been "disastrous" from a "commercial point of view". And yet when the country could not come up with a financial deal to sate the ever-increasing demands of Bernie Ecclestone,į1's tsar had no compunction about cutting it free. Oh, and France, but it lost its race seven years ago and has next to no hope of a return.įrance is where motor racing started. Only Belgium and Italy have held races for longer. The race's history stretches back to 1926. The last time Germany disappeared from the calendar was in 1955.
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