{"id":504175,"date":"2025-10-16T12:50:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T12:50:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/504175\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T12:50:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T12:50:11","slug":"ecclestone-slams-f1-calendar-calls-for-return-of-the-german-grand-prix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/504175\/","title":{"rendered":"Ecclestone Slams F1 Calendar, Calls for Return of the German Grand Prix"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone<\/a> has taken aim at the sport\u2019s modern calendar, arguing that the German Grand Prix should never have disappeared. According to the 94-year-old Briton, the only thing preventing its return is money \u2014 not a lack of passion or history.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s strange that it\u2019s not happening\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Over the past decade, Formula 1\u2019s schedule has changed dramatically. Traditional European venues have steadily lost ground to street circuits and new markets. Classic races such as Imola, Zandvoort, and Hockenheim are being squeezed out in favor of destinations like Las Vegas, while new countries including Thailand, Rwanda, and South Africa are reportedly vying for future slots.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Ecclestone, the trend is troubling. Speaking to Sport.de, the former F1 supremo expressed disbelief that Germany \u2014 once one of the sport\u2019s heartlands \u2014 has been left without a race. \u201cI think about it often, and I simply don\u2019t understand it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s strange that it\u2019s not being made possible. Nobody would really be against it, except maybe a few people in Germany itself. It\u2019s purely a question of money. If someone came along with the right financial backing, it would work.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

A fading F1 powerhouse\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The last official German Grand Prix was held in 2019 at the Hockenheimring, where Max Verstappen<\/a> claimed victory in dramatic wet conditions. In 2020, the N\u00fcrburgring hosted a one-off event during the COVID-affected season, but it wasn\u2019t officially designated as the German Grand Prix. Since then, the country has been absent from the calendar.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While Germany currently lacks a leading homegrown driver, there is renewed hope that interest could return. Next year will see two German manufacturers, Audi and Mercedes<\/a>, competing on the grid \u2014 a reminder of the nation\u2019s deep motorsport heritage. Whether that\u2019s enough to reignite local enthusiasm remains to be seen.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ecclestone\u2019s message to F1\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

For Ecclestone, the issue is as much emotional as financial. Germany has produced legends such as Michael Schumacher<\/a>, Sebastian Vettel<\/a>, and Nico Rosberg<\/a>, and its circuits have long been part of the sport\u2019s DNA. \u201cIt\u2019s ridiculous that a country with such history isn\u2019t on the calendar,\u201d he suggested.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As Formula 1 continues to chase new markets, Ecclestone\u2019s plea serves as a pointed reminder: in the rush for expansion, the sport risks losing the very roots that built it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has taken aim at the sport\u2019s modern calendar, arguing that the German…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":504176,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4103],"tags":[90226,4199,707,4200,141676,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-504175","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-f1","8":"tag-bernie-ecclestone","9":"tag-f1","10":"tag-formula-1","11":"tag-formula1","12":"tag-formule-1","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115383934883051101","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=504175"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504175\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/504176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=504175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=504175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=504175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}