Germany does not have the will to host a Formula 1 race, according to Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff.
Although the Grand Prix in Wolff's native Austria is promoted by Red Bull, the 52-year-old said the country fully supports the race.
“We are high-tech, we are innovative and we have the support of countless people. In Austria, politicians of all stripes support the race because they recognize its added value.”
But the situation couldn't be more different in Germany, with Hockenheim and the Nürburgring no longer willing to take on all the financial risks associated with staging a Grand Prix.
“I think Germany is still suffering from the hangover of the Schumacher years. But it's a strange German phenomenon and no one can really explain it.”
Indeed, while Michael Schumacher created a craze for Formula 1 in Germany, Wolff noted that others “great German pilots” as Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel failed to imitate the Schumacher effect.
The result today is that a historic F1 host nation like Germany is completely absent from the sport.
“To get the right return on investment, someone first has to invest. I wonder if the political and economic conditions in Germany are such that you want to invest in a Grand Prix?”
