Officials from the legendary Nurburgring circuit in Germany are 'willing to talk' about an eventual return to Formula 1 in the near future.
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Formula 1 fans have, in recent years, lamented the disappearing of some of the sport’s more ‘traditional’ venues. And perhaps no circuit is missed as much as Germany’s Nurburgring.
The legendary F1 circuit hasn’t been a full-time part of the calendar since 2013. That being said, the track was used in 2020 for the one-off Eifel Grand Prix.
Still, the lack of a German Grand Prix is something that F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said he was ‘sad’ about in a recent interview.
“I’m disappointed and also sad that we don’t have a German Grand Prix at the moment,” the F1 CEO told Sport1.
“But unfortunately, I don’t see any real interest from Germany in becoming part of the Formula 1 calendar again. That’s a shame and actually hard to believe. I hope this will change again in the future.”
But that is not the official line taken by officials from the circuit. Indeed, it would seem the circuit is open to hosting a race in the future.
“We are still willing to talk,” communications director of the operating company, Alexander Gerhard, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur as quoted by Sky Sports F1 in Germany.
“We continue to take the view that we can very well imagine Formula 1 at the Nurburgring, but under economically sensible general conditions.”
Given F1 currently has two German drivers in Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher, capitalising on this would make sense. There’s also the fact that Mercedes, the current constructor’s champions, are a German company.
But no talk of a Nurburgring return is complete without a reference to the Nordschleife, or the ‘North Loop’. Nicknamed ‘The Green Hell’ by former F1 world champion Jackie Stewart, the 20.8 km long stretch has long been discarded from F1.
The main reason for this was Niki Lauda’s fatal crash in 1976, which left the Austrian fighting for his life. Although it is worth noting that the track had already been criticised as dangerous well before then.
The track is still used for certain events, but not for F1. Still, Gerhard made it clear that ruling out the North Loop isn’t wise at this point.
“As an idea, you are allowed to position the Nordschleife because it has a great tradition,” said Gerhard.
“I would never completely reject this idea, nevertheless there would have to be talks with all parties involved. That would be the third step, not the first.”
He further added that the Nurburgring would be open to sharing the German GP and alternating with other tracks in the country.
