Ex-Mercedes motorsport boss shames German F1 fans

Former Mercedes racing boss Norbert Haug says German motorsport fans should be ashamed for turning Formula 1 into a tragedy in their country which no longer hosts a Grand Prix.

Until 2013, Germany - a country steeped in F1 history since the beginning of the world championship in 1950 - enjoyed a perennial presence on F1's calendar.

Through the decades, races at Hockenheim or the Nürburgring were well attended while promoters also capitalized on the success of Michael Schumacher during the German driver's heyday in the sport.

But F1's popularity in the country dwindled thereafter, even despite Sebastian Vettel's success and world titles and Mercedes' dominance.

From 2014, Hockenheim became the sole recipient in Germany of a round of the world championship, although the venue's financial struggles meant that the race appeared every two years on the calendar while its most recent event in 2019 only owed its presence to Mercedes' vital sponsorship.

Haug, a prominent figure in the F1 paddock during the successful days of Mercedes' partnership with McLaren, believes that Germany's now three-year drought is a direct consequence of the country's waning passion for F1.

"In Germany, Formula 1 has turned into a tragedy that every motorsport enthusiast can only be ashamed of," Haug told news outlet RND.

"Between 1994 and 2016, there were German world champions like an assembly line, seven titles from Michael Schumacher, four in a row from Sebastian Vettel, and finally the last one to date from Nico Rosberg in 2016.

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"Mercedes, with its partner teams McLaren and Brawn GP with Mika Hakkinen, Lewis Hamilton, and Jenson Button, won four Drivers’ World Championships between 1998 and 2009.

"The Mercedes factory team was Constructors’ World Champion eight times in a row from 2014 to 2021, winning six World titles with Hamilton and one with Rosberg.

"For a dozen years, in the late 1990s and 2000s, there were two Formula 1 races a year in Germany, in front of full ranks and over 100,000 spectators.

"On RTL, 12 million people watched, instead of three million today."

Vettel's retirement from Formula 1 and Mick Schumacher's inability to remain on the grid don't bode well for the sport's popularity picking up in the future.

While Nico Hulkenberg will be Germany's single representative in F1 in 2023, the 35-year-old veteran is unlikely to unleash his countrymen's passions.

"In 2010, there were still seven German Formula 1 drivers in one season," Haug added.

"Today, Nico Hulkenberg still has one in what is, at best, a second-rate team, and Mick Schumacher is a promising substitute driver – but at least in the right team. There hasn’t been a German Grand Prix for a long time.

"A zealous green auto objector could not have developed a less ambitious and less successful German Formula 1 strategy.

"This specifically excludes the Mercedes works team, which – correctly – operates out of England and has two great British drivers."

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