“In Germany, Formula 1 has turned into a tragedy,” former Mercedes chief is upset over the Germans’ declining interest in F1
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Formula 1 is no longer the elitist sport that is only accessible to Europe’s influential people. As Liberty Media acquired sole ownership of the F1 franchise after Bernie Ecclestone sold his rights, they were interested in spreading the word about the sport far and wide. Going by the plan, the FIA planned Grands Prix in various venues spread all over the globe and in just a few years, F1 became a worldwide phenomenon as well as one of the most-viewed motorsports events in history.
One thing that the FIA struggled with was introducing Formula 1 to the people leaving across the pond in the United States of America. The States is the hub of all global businesses, but they simply did not know about F1 in the beginning and NASCAR was the only motorsports event that was trending there. But then came the hit Netflix series Drive to Survive which documented the paddock lives of the F1 racers, and that proved to be a massive success. DTS made F1 a household name in the USA, and in the upcoming year, the FIA have decided to cash in on this newfound popularity by holding three Grands Prix there.
While F1’s popularity is now increasing exponentially, there is one country where the craze about this sport seems to have waned with time–and that is Germany. The country which is the birthplace of some of the greatest names in Formula 1–Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg, and many more–does not seem to take that much interest in Formula 1 anymore. According to former Mercedes chief Norbet Haug, it is an abject “tragedy” that Formula 1 is not so much in trend in Germany anymore, even though the country has their own team–Mercedes–contesting in the Grands Prix.
Norbert Haug believes the German motorsports fans are to blame for the country’s declining interest in F1
While Germany is a major European country, and most of the F1 Grands Prix are scheduled in the continent, there is not a single race in next year’s calendar which will take place in Mercedes’ home country. The last time the fans could attend a German Grand Prix in Nürburgring was in 2019, and then F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali himself said they had to discontinue the race due to a lack of interest from the countrymen.
Commenting on this, Norbert Haug said, “In Germany, Formula 1 has turned into a tragedy that every motorsport enthusiast can only be ashamed of.”
The upcoming 2023 season was all-set to have the longest ever F1 calendar in history, but the Chinese GP was cancelled due to the country’s strict Covid-19 protocols. Now, recent news claim that the Chinese GP authority is trying to comeback into the schedule this year. Now it remains to be seen if the Nürburgring can also make a comeback in Formula 1 in the future seasons.
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Riddhi Mondal
(1821 Articles Published)