German GP in jeopardy over costly hosting fees

AFTERmy comment last week about the possibility of a world championship Formula 1 event being staged on a street circuit in Cape Town, the news that the German Grand Prix may be in financial trouble is not reassuring.

Bernie Ecclestone’s claim that the promoters of this long- established event are unwilling to pay the fees is an indication of how the situation has changed since the long- gone Schumacher era when the Germans couldn’t get enough F1. At one stage during that period, the country even hosted two rounds of the title chase. And this during a time when the F1 calendar contained fewer events than it does today.

The situation now is that despite a German team (albeit based in England) being the world championship constructor, and having a German driver in Nico Rosberg, who sincerely believes he can beat Britain’s Lewis Hamilton this year – the sport seems to be seriously on the wane there. This was emphasised when Rosberg’s victory at Hockenheim last year was played out in front of rows of empty seats. Even the fact that four- time champion Sebastian Vettel is emulating Schumi by joining Ferrari seems to be having little effect. With the days of a second race in the same country now a distant memory, the single German GP has been hosted at Hockenheim and the Nurburgring on an alternating basis. This year’s race was due to have been held at the Nurburgring’s shorter GP circuit which is now under new management after Bernie’s bid to buy it came to nothing. Then when problems arose, the deal was offered to Hockenheim.

However, that looks to have foundered as well and the ’Ring was then back in the picture. “I am happy to keep a round of Formula 1 at the Nurburgring,” Ecclestone wrote in a recent e-mail to the German news agency dpa.

“The promoter is aware of this and we have met to discuss the issue. The problem is that they are not prepared to pay the fee.” Ecclestone had said the fate of this year’s race would be known by the weekend.

“I’m not sure it is going to happen,” he told dpa. Last month Ecclestone admitted the future of F1 in Germany looked bleak because “the visiting numbers have been so poor in recent years that it is not economically viable”.

One reply to that so far has been that with his reputation, the little man may be wearing his F1 commercial rights holder’s cap and trying to drive down the market value of the motorsport complex in order to acquire it for himself. He would then be in a position to award it the German GP for a far more reasonable hosting fee.