Formula 1 News: Schumacher doubts Germany’s ability to return to the F1 calendar (Update)

(GMM) Germany’s brief burst of optimism about a Formula 1 return has been dampened again, with TZ newspaper reporting that the financial realities make a comeback highly unlikely – despite F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali recently declaring he wants Germany back on the calendar.

AvD president Lutz Leif Linden laid out the scale of the problem. “Formula 1 has experienced an extreme surge in popularity in recent years, also due to promotional activities such as the Netflix documentaries,” he said.

“This has significantly increased the cost of everything.”

Linden, who has previously organised German GPs himself, says the figures are now far beyond what ticket sales can cover.

“The license fees and any security costs for such an event alone cannot be covered by the sole source of income, namely ticket sales,” he added.

Germany offers no public funding – unlike many F1 host nations – and even places an additional burden on drivers by taxing income earned during the weekend. “That doesn’t exist in other countries,” Linden noted.

The price tag, he said, is now brutal. “20 or 25 million euros are nowhere near enough anymore,” he said, adding that a German GP would only be realistic “if some super-mega sponsor comes along.”

Linden stressed the huge economic upside an F1 weekend brings to a region, but political reluctance and fears of breaching EU subsidy rules remain major obstacles.

He concluded: “Nowadays you can’t get a major international sporting event anywhere unless the state fully backs it and cross-finances it. We can only achieve something if we go ‘all in’ – all of us.”

(GMM) Despite talk of Germany rejoining the Formula 1 calendar, Ralf Schumacher (pictured) says the country faces too many obstacles to make a comeback any time soon.

F1 has already confirmed the 2026 calendar with 24 races, and now six newly-confirmed sprint events as well, including new sprint hosts Canada, Zandvoort and Singapore.

Germany is not among them, but F1 CEO recently floated the possibility of a return to Hockenheim or the Nurburgring – especially with Audi entering the sport and Mercedes already established there.

Schumacher, however, told T-Online that German motorsport is shrinking.

“In Germany, we currently have around 700 racing licenses for karting, and the number is declining,” he said.

“In England, for example, there are 4000. There, and especially in Italy, karting exists, but here in Germany, it is increasingly being phased out. There are hardly any decent kart tracks left, and there are also fewer and fewer racing series.

“It’s quite simple – If I take away football pitches, there will be fewer and fewer football players, and that’s precisely the problem we currently have in racing.”

Mercedes and ADAC have responded by launching a partnership aimed at supporting a German driver through the ranks up to F1. But Schumacher believes manufacturers must also collaborate to revive Germany’s place on the calendar.

“Collaborations are extremely important,” said the former F1 driver. “If Mercedes and Audi ever decide together to support the project, something could happen. I’d like to see that happen.”

But Schumacher remains pessimistic about a return without state support.

“As long as the state does not contribute financial resources – which it will recoup through the tourism generated around the race – it will not work,” he said.

“Entry fees are now so high that the organizer has to provide an extensive security package with police and fire departments – Hockenheim won’t be able to generate that much revenue. You don’t have to have studied mathematics to realize it won’t work.

“But I still have hope.”