Marko confesses why he hopes Mercedes 'will be strong again'

Helmut Marko is naturally putting his unwavering support behind Red Bull, but the Austrian says F1 has a good reason to root for Mercedes this season.

Formula 1 will expand its calendar this season from 22 to 23 rounds, with the sport returning to Qatar and racing in Las Vegas in the back-half of the 2023 season.

Sadly, Germany no longer features on F1's calendar since 2019. During the heydays of Michael Schumacher, races in Hockenheim and at the Nürburgring were sold-out events, with grandstands often packed to capacity with excited fans.

After Schumacher's departure from the sport, F1 maintained a reasonably healthy level of popularity in Germany thanks to Sebastian Vettel's success and later to 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.

Former Mercedes motorsport boss Norbert Haug recently called Germany's detachment from F1 "a tragedy that every motorsport enthusiast can only be ashamed of".

"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."

• Read also: Schumacher 'comfortable' at Mercedes, not worried about future

Marko believes that Mercedes could play its part in reviving F1's popularity in Germany, if the Brackley squad's can once again consistently challenge for the world title.

And that's a prospect the Red Bull motorsport boss hopes will come to fruition.

"It’s incredible what’s happening in Germany right now," Marko told Sport1.

"In Austria it is exactly the opposite. F1 is booming more than ever before. The Red Bull team is seen as the Austrian national team and the whole country is cheering on that.

"That’s why I even hope that Mercedes will be strong again so that the Germans will identify with them."

While the sport is swamped with requests for hosting a Grand Prix from countries all over the world, Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali admits that Germany's lack of interest in Formula 1 is a disappointing state of affairs.

But the Italian insisted that at the end of the day, a race in Germany has to make financial sense for all parties involved.

"The Grand Prix has to be worthwhile for all parties. We can’t cover all the costs," he told Bild. "It’s a mystery to me how you can’t build an event around a grand prix these days.

"But if they do well, we’ll have another race in Germany."

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