Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff believes Germany still feels a “hangover from the Schumacher era” in Formula One.
“It’s a strange German phenomenon, and nobody can really explain it,” Wolff told Stuttgarter Zeitung in an interview.
He explained that Germany hasn’t hosted a Grand Prix in some time, despite holding two races a year during Michael Schumacher’s dominance. Additionally, Formula One is no longer regularly available on free-to-air TV, with only seven races airing this year.
“There were always great German drivers, most recently Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel,” Wolff recalled.
But neither Vettel, who won four world titles from 2010 to 2013, nor Rosberg, crowned world champion in 2016, were able to spark the same enthusiasm as Schumacher – who shares the record for most F1 titles with Lewis Hamilton, both with seven.
Germany was part of the F1 calendar with the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim until 2019. During the pandemic, the iconic Nürburgring track appeared in the revised 2020 season calendar, but since then, no F1 race has been held in Germany.
Organizers have refused to stage races in the country due to high costs and lack of investment.
“For the right return on investment, you first need someone to invest. I ask myself: Are the political and economic conditions in Germany such that people want to invest in a Grand Prix?” Wolff said.
He said that he understands people who think an F1 race is superfluous but added, “We are high-tech, we are innovation, and we have the support of countless people. Back home in Austria, politicians of all hues support the race because they recognize the added value.”
Wolff’s home Austrian GP at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg has been on the F1 calendar since 2014.