Hockenheim Could Yet Remain on the F1 Calendar

The recently concluded German GP, which has been hosted by the Hockenheimring every alternate year could see a scenario change as the scrapping of the race in Miami has opened up a space on the F1 calendar in 2019.

The situation was such that the costs involved had discouraged the Hockenheim boss, Georg Seiler, from pushing for a grand prix weekend at the circuit. But he was notified of this new development by Liberty.

“I’m not interested in whether Miami is on the calendar. I thought we would not be back until 2020, but I’ve also heard that Liberty Media is interested in being in Germany in 2019 as well”, Seiler told Kolner Express, a German media organization.

He also suggested a lack of interest from some factions as the reason for not pushing through for an F1 deal. “If politicians are interested in keeping F1 in Germany, that’s a good sign. But we are further from that”, he bluntly commented.

Seiler may have been referring to his meeting with German federal minister, Andreas Scheuer, last week which gave him the impression that they were indifferent about an F1 weekend in Germany.

According to his interview with German newspaper, Mannheimer Morgen, he wants a deal with no financial risk and wants to wrap it up as quickly as possible, ‘within the next few weeks’, to quote him.

The much hyped Miami GP sadly seems like a far cry as of now. Liberty’s commercial boss for F1, Sean Bratches confirmed it when he said, “We have decided to postpone sign-off until later in the summer.”

“We are aiming to run the first Miami Grand Prix in 2020”, he stated.

The culmination of these situations could result in Germany hosting races in consecutive years for the first time in recent memory.

It’ll help with building the brand as Germany is home to illustrious F1 champions like Michael Schumacher, Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel.