Nürburgring, Hockenheim cannot meet ‘demands’ of F1

The 2022 F1 calendar is rammed full – 23 to be precise – yet Hockenheim and the Nurburgring aren’t on the calendar at all.

Talking to Motorsport Total, Ingo Boder, boss of the Nurburgring in Germany, said that without significant private funding, then the tracks simply cannot meet the “demands” that F1 requires.

The tracks are keen to host events, but simply cannot compete with the money that F1 is attracting nowadays with the likes of new venues such as Qatar, Miami and Saudi Arabia.

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Boder said: “We’re talking about very high entry fees and the revenue we can generate. Unfortunately, that always leaves a gap that is far too big for us as a medium-sized company to handle.”

F1 chief executiveStefano Domenicali has previously hinteda willingness to talk about meeting halfway to include the tracks which is “very much welcome”, according to Boder.

Domenicali had said that he wanted to initiate an “open discussion” on how a return of F1 to Germany could be achieved.

Jorn Teske, a director at Hockenheim said to Motorsport.com: “As long as many countries are prepared to pay [large] sums of money for the organization of a Formula 1 race that cannot be recovered at all, it is difficult to participate in this concert.

“The fact that we are interested in having a Formula 1 race take place here is not new. We know which hurdles must be overcome. The financial hurdle with the starting fee is a major obstacle.”

There have been talks of a cycle whereby a Grand Prix at the Nürburgring takes place one year and the Hockenheim the next – this has been praised by the bosses of the two tracks, and would ease the economic strain on the two historic venues.

The first grand prix will take place on the 18- 20 March in Bahrain, beginning the marathon 23-race season.