Germany’s Hockenheim circuit has told Formula 1 bosses Liberty Media that if they chase money with future Grand Prix deals then they are no longer interested in hosting.
The famous track is back on the calendar in 2018 for what is the final year of its current contract with the commercial rights holder, a contract which sees it host a race once every two years.
Initially, it was part of a sharing deal with the Nurburgring with the two circuits alternating, but the latter was forced to give up their spot after 2013 due to financial problems with Hockenheim just about keeping its head above water.
Speaking to Autosport and quoted by PlanetF1, marketing director Jorn Teske insists the venue, which saw its iconic layout drastically shortened in 2002, does want to remain in F1.
“We’re aiming to host a GP in the future and we’d like to have it in the future, but the key point is we cannot prolong under current conditions,” he said.
“We have a circuit which does not receive any financial support from anybody, neither from the state nor from the region nor from economic companies, so we have to make and manage everything for ourselves.
“We had some losses in the past. We had a 10-year contract, and we fulfilled this contract, even though we had some better and some worse years,” Teske added.
“We would like to have a contract which will take the risk from us, this is the basic point.”
His comments come following F1 CEO Chase Carey’s insistence that Liberty would maintain the sport’s European foundation while also expanding elsewhere, but as other races such as Italy, Belgium, Britain, and Germany face uncertainty, it has emerged the new race in Miami won’t even have to pay a fee, an honour only given to Monaco.
While Hockenheim acknowledges that would be a step too far, they do say viable options are available.
“For the moment we are always talking about fees, and then we were asked how much fee would you pay to host the race? This is not our question, because we think we should restructure the business model,” Teske claimed
“This could be a track rental [by F1 or a third party promoter], or it could be a sharing of ticket income and sharing of costs.
“We presented our ideas, we presented the figures, very transparent, very clear, in the details, and now they have to think about it,” he continued.
“I hope that they move a bit. But it’s not that easy because it’s a financial decision they have to take.
“Do they take the big money? [If so] then we’re out. Or do they believe in the importance of the traditional racetracks, and an important automotive country in Germany?”
