World Cup hangover hits the German Grand Prix
AS PARTIES go, it was like a church hall disco with the lights on, lemonade on tap and a disapproving chaperone in the corner making sure that no one indulged in a sneaky snog.
Formula One sent out the invitations but no one came to the celebration of German dominance at the Hockenheimring. There was row after row of empty seats around the winding three- mile temple of speed that has captivated generations of Germans.
Sebastian Vettel, the four-times world champion was brought up 30 kilometres away and saw his first motor race here. Michael Schumacher was a legend of this track and Nico Rosberg, born in Wiesbaden, leads the drivers’ championship this season.
Rosberg even drives for Mercedes, the local bigwigs made so good they have their own grandstand here under the famous three-pointed star. Even they cannot throw a decent party: thanks to Europe’s stringent bribery and corruption rules, known as compliance, Mercedes have struggled to invite guests to bulk out the thin numbers.
‘‘It is not satisfying,’’ Toto Wolff, the Mercedes director, admitted glumly after the first two practice sessions, when Mercedes held the top two places on the time sheets yet again – Lewis Hamilton fastest, followed by Rosberg. ‘‘If the weekend continues like this, it is something we will have to think about.’’
Start thinking, Toto: there were 88,000 at Silverstone on the Friday of the British Grand Prix a fortnight ago. The numbers had not been crunched here last night, but the measure was the vast empty spaces. Raceday will not be much better; 50,000 are expected, compared with 120,000 at Silverstone.
F1 has three traditional home bases – Britain, Italy and Germany. While British fans would turn up to watch Micky Mouse race Daffy Duck, interest in Italy is ebbing because of Ferrari’s poor form and Germany, the nation that could lay claim to inventing the motor car more than a century ago, has better things to do.
Perhaps fans are sated by World Cup success. The organisers did everything but give away tickets, such was their desperation. A clever offer of a NZ$17 discount on a ticket for every goal Germany scored in the World Cup failed to ignite interest – even after the seven-goal deluge against Brazil.
The paddock, baked by hot sunshine, looked just a little forlorn on Friday. At one end, there is the Mercedes motorhome with Dast Beste (the best), spelt out in giant white letters on its sides. That was meant for the football team but applies to the Mercedes squad, too. They have won all but one of nine grands prix this season and will almost certainly do so again in Hockenheim, barring unpredictable weather or bad luck.
Hamilton, fresh from victory at Silverstone, is the driver on a roll, but Rosberg is the cock of the walk at Hockenheim. He is smart and smooth, the ultimate diplomat.
Apparently, he rounded up the 24 team members who make up his side of the garage before Silverstone and took them out for a day of high-speed driving at the Bedford Autodrome owned by Jonathan Palmer, the former F1 driver. A fine day was had by all, and Rosberg left with a team of people devoted to their driver.
Rosberg has all of the winning traits and has led this World Championship from the start, apart from a brief interruption by Hamilton. You may think that would be a cause for national celebration at the Hockenheimring, as Rosberg prepares to become Germany’s third world champion. Then again, maybe Germany is all partied out. Put that lemonade on ice and forget a soppy kiss . . . Germany is not coming out to play.