Guenther Steiner blames commercialization as the cause behind decline of F1 in Germany
Guenther Steiner has pinpointed the actual problem behind the decreasing viewership numbers of Formula 1 in Germany.
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Formula One started off in the 1850s as an elite sport reserved for some rich aristocrats of Europe. But that view has changed completely as the pinnacle of motorsports is now enjoying the most popularity it has ever encountered in history. With the massive rise in US viewership, the executives of the Formula One Management and the FIA chiefs decided to execute their plan for the Las Vegas GP. The race in the Sin City is scheduled to be held in November and it will be the costliest F1 race ever.
Despite the booming popularity of Formula 1 all around the world, there is one country where the sport is losing its sparkle–Germany. The land that gave birth to the biggest talents in F1 such as Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel no longer has a Grand Prix of its own because of the decline in interest amongst the audience. And Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner has blamed the pay TV structure for the fall of Formula 1 in Germany.
Being an Italian by birth, Steiner has had a close relationship with Germany throughout his career as a motorsport engineer. He is fluent in German, and one of his current recruits, Nico Hulkenberg, is German as well. Speaking of why Formula One is losing its viewership in Michael Schumacher’s country, Guenther Steiner said, “The people who don’t want to pay for Sky are the problem. I would put it like this: It’s definitely a problem because German viewers aren’t used to paying for television.”
Sky Sports currently hold the rights to telecast Formula 1 in Germany
Guenther Steiner has attacked the prices of SkySports in Germany for the fall of F1 in the country. He said that the Germans are not used to paying for their television programmes, and the country is thus straying away from F1 gradually. Now, Steiner wants to emulate the success of F1 in Netherlands in Germany. He said, “Now we have to see to it that we get a fan base in Germany like the Dutch. [It] is a shame, because Germany has always been a Formula 1 country.”
One of the German racers currently in the sidelines after being kicked out of Haas by Guenther Steiner is Mick Schumacher. While the Italian-American Team Principal got so vocal about promoting F1 in Germany at his recent interview, he himself showed Mick the doors after a two-year tenure at Haas at the end of 2022. In Mick’s place, Steiner took up yet another German, Nico Hulkenberg.
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Riddhi Mondal
(1821 Articles Published)