German Grand Prix abandoned: Money is no joke for poets

One of the most traditional races in F1 was removed from the 2015 season schedule and it is unknown when it will return to fans.

This incident makes fans wonder if F1 is gradually losing its iconic values?

Traditional values ​​and symbols could not save the German GP.The last time German fans didn't see F1 cars race on their home soil was in 1955. Since then, F1 has never been absent from the country that produced legends like Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel (except for the 1960 season, which was canceled due to safety reasons). Before that, the first German Grand Prix was held in 1926. Only Belgium and Italy have hosted longer consecutive F1 races than Germany.

Before Germany was removed from the calendar, France had also lost the chance to host an F1 race in 2009 and had little chance of returning in the near future, despite the fact that this country hosted the world's first speed car race in 1906. When it failed to meet the increasingly demanding requirements of the cost of hosting an F1 race, France was outright eliminated by Bernie Ecclestone despite the historic nature of the French Grand Prix.

Will F1 cars ever return to the Hockenheim circuit? Photo: Formula 1.

The F1 boss has shown no regrets about abandoning a race with such rich heritage and tradition. Ecclestone also announced that he is ready to not renew his contract with the organizers of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, because he believes that the race at the historic Monza track is a commercial disaster.

Other seemingly untouchable races on the F1 calendar, such as Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium) or Silverstone (UK), have also been threatened with abandonment if they do not meet Ecclestone's financial demands. The British F1 boss has stated that there is no shortage of tracks in the Americas, Eastern Europe and West Asia lining up to replace traditional races in Western Europe.

For many fans, the absence of races like Monza on the F1 calendar is unthinkable. But the recent German Grand Prix shows that nothing is impossible with Ecclestone's hand. Many experts affirm that the current F1 boss's top priority is profit. They also believe that focusing too much on pursuing commercial goals is not good for the development of F1 when losing iconic and traditional races.

For many audiences, the soul of F1 is the iconic races in Europe. However, with the public debt and economic recession in Europe, the racetracks without the support of the state and tycoons are difficult to meet the financial requirements of Ecclestone. Therefore, Lewis Hamilton and his colleagues will have to continue to appear in countries that seem unfamiliar to F1 such as Bahrain today or Azerbaijan next season.

Racetracks that bloom and fade quickly, appearing prominently on the racing calendar and disappearing after a few short seasons such as Istanbul Park (Türkiye), Yeongam (Korea) or Buddh (India) make many fans question the sustainability and traditional values ​​of the current F1 sport.

The Germans seem to have gotten bored with F1. Since 2007, Hockenheim and Nurburgring have taken turns hosting F1 races in Germany to share the financial burden of maintaining the race. Accordingly, Hockenheim will host races in even years, while Nurburgring will have priority to host the odd years. So in 2015 it will be Nurburgring's turn to host the German Grand Prix. However, after the track went bankrupt and changed hands repeatedly since the end of 2014, Hockenheim was asked to take its place.

At the final round of negotiations in March this year, Hockenheim found themselves with just four months to sell out their race tickets before the race, a time when the Germans were cooling their interest in F1, and one that left Hockenheim with the impression that the chance of staging a commercially successful event was gone, while Ecclestone’s financial demands were high.

German audiences are no longer passionate about the sport of F1. Photo: Formula 1.

In 2014, despite the German driver Nico Rosberg and the Mercedes team dominating the field, Hockenheim was almost empty during testing and qualifying. They sold only 50,000 tickets for the official race on Sunday afternoon, when Hockenheim has a capacity of 120,000. The lack of interest from German spectators at F1 races on home soil seems absurd for a country that has produced legends like Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel.

To understand the situation, let's look at the UK, which also hosts a similar iconic race in Germany. In 2014, Silverstone sold 330,000 tickets for the entire four-day race, with 120,000 spectators attending the main race on Sunday afternoon.

In their desire to maintain an iconic race on their home turf, Mercedes even offered to help, providing limited financial support to Hockenheim. But Mercedes did not want to go too far, to avoid setting a bad precedent. The amount of support Mercedes offered, up to millions of dollars, guaranteed to cover half of the race's losses, and free promotion of the Hockenheim track. However, the team's goodwill was not accepted.

Does Ecclestone have the solution to the F1 problem in Germany?In the view of the F1 boss, the tradition of each race itself has the smallest value in motor racing. According to him, each race must pay to be allowed to organize the race. However, Ecclestone also understands that depending on the historical value of each race, the organizer must pay different amounts to be allowed to organize. For example, traditional racetracks such as Monza will have to pay less than Sakhir (Bahrain) and Sochi (Russia). Even the oldest and most famous racetrack Monaco does not have to pay Ecclestone and is still allowed to organize F1 races.

Many experts worry that despite being slightly more favored, the old-fashioned races are still at a disadvantage compared to the races in Eastern Europe and Asia. For the races in Germany, England and Italy, they hardly receive financial support from the state to promote the national image like the races in Bahrain, UAE, Singapore or Malaysia. So although they have to pay less than the emerging races, the traditional races still face many challenges in ensuring profits.

Ecclestone (left) wants to maximize profits from the races. Photo: Formula 1.

Why did Ecclestone charge such a high price?This is largely due to the popularity of F1. Ecclestone does not want to devalue F1. This is partly due to the fact that the majority shareholders of F1, Ecclestone's response, are simply a manifestation of their policies. The shareholders' investment in F1 is solely for financial gain.

Some experts believe that money is at the root of the current crisis in F1. Despite a global turnover of $1.5 billion a year, four F1 teams are struggling financially. F1’s financial model is broken somewhere. Some teams know it.

So what is the solution to end the current crisis?First, it would be necessary to pump money into the teams and invest in races in important markets that are currently being loosened, such as Germany and the US. Many believe that with more investment, F1 would be in a much healthier state. However, to make this solution successful, it would be necessary to convince the 84-year-old tycoon Ecclestone to change the business philosophy that has made him successful. Therefore, the second, more comprehensive solution is to find a venture capital fund to replace Ecclestone and change the current operating philosophy of F1.

According to VNE