Just found this in another forum:

Quote :

Germany could disappear from F1 map in 2010
Posted : Sun, 30 Nov 2008 14:06:12 GMT
Author : DPA


Hamburg - Germany could be without a Formula One race for the first time in half a century in 2010 for financial reasons, it emerged on Sunday. Officials from the Nuerburgring said they would be unable to stage the 2010 German Grand Prix if the original cash-strapped host Hockenheim had to withdraw.

"We can not afford that," Nuerburgring general manager Walter Kafitz told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Hockenheim and the Nuerburgring currently share the German Grand Prix, with this year's race in Hockenheim and the 2009 edition on the Nuerburgring.

Hockenheim's ability to stage the 2010 race came under threat when the state of Baden-Wurttemberg, where the track is located, announced on Friday that it will not provide funds for the troubled organizers.

"There will be no more Formula One in Hockenheim without state funds," Hockenheim boss Josef Schmidt told Sunday's edition of Der Tagesspiegel paper.

Hockenheim ran up a deficit of more than 5 million euros (6.3 million dollars) from the 2008 race and would have similar losses in 2010. Kafitz said that Nuerburgring's losses in 2007 were in the same range.

Germany was last without a Formula One race in 1960. The country of record champion Michael Schumacher staged two races 1995-2006, the Germans Grand Prix in Hockenheim and European GP on the Nuerburgring.

The country has four drivers in the sport, Nick Heidfeld, Sebastian Vettel, Adrian Sutil and Nico Rosberg. Car makers Mercedes and BMW are also big F1 players, and the Toyota team is based near Cologne.
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Quote :

The country has four drivers in the sport, Nick Heidfeld, Sebastian Vettel, Adrian Sutil and Nico Rosberg.

Quote from zeugnimod :

Poor old Timo, even when he takes part in the last corner drama in the last race of the season he doesn't get noticed.

With all these Grand Prix withdrawing, I'd say Bernie is the one in trouble lol

We wish!

Quote from BurnOut69 :

With all these Grand Prix withdrawing, I'd say Bernie is the one in trouble lol

We wish!

We will just be left with a regional championship rather than a world championship, they could call it Formula Oil.

Quote from ATC Quicksilver :

We will just be left with a regional championship rather than a world championship, they could call it Formula Oil.

Ya, F1 without a German GP is like pie without filling...

How long 'till F1 leaves Europe completely?

I agree, leaving out a German GP would alienate a large number of fans, however Bernie doesn't really care about alienating fans it seems.

More information on Hockenheim

Quote :

The boss of Germany’s Hockenheim circuit has warned that the venue is in “acute danger” of falling off future Formula 1 calendars unless it receives financial help from the state government.The track currently alternates hosting the German Grand Prix with the Nurburgring; with the country having reverted to hosting just one F1 race annually from 2007 so that both venues could share the increasingly high costs of staging a grand prix. Hockenheim is next scheduled to stage the event in 2010, the final year of its contract with F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, but circuit boss Karl-Josef Schmidt has already raised major doubts over whether the track has a longer term future in F1.Following news that the economy ministry of Baden-Wuerttemberg has said that it does not want to take on the 5.3 million euros losses racked up by this year’s race, Schmidt says Hockenheim would be unable to continue on the calendar without such support.
Source: itv-f1.com

Bernie Ecclestone in designed to make F1 to be Mid East 1 Formula Championship

new hockenheim is a pretty boring track anyway.....

That's true, it offers nothing over the others now Tilke waved his magic wand of destruction over it.

Perhaps if Bernie stops charging so much money they'd be able to continue.

While back Ecclestone was "keen to save Chinese GP"...

...where is this senile prick now?

okey... German GP is one of the GPs with the oldest traditions, driving on the Nürburgring until the seventies exept once the AVUS then going to hockenheim returning once to the new nürburgring and then coming back to hockenheim then the new hockenheim track and now the shared organisation...

It's really sad. There are several good tracks out there, wich could host a F1 GP and don't have these carpark feeling.

I smell something like Bernie is trying to get rid of the European GPs exept the British and the Italian maybe and making the rest 14 rounds in Asia+Ozeania... (Malaysia, China, Japan, Quatar, Bahrin, Australia, ...)

... I'm still for making up a new good formula one... maybe with similar tracks variety as A1GP does have

Quote from TFalke55 :

I smell something like Bernie is trying to get rid of the European GPs exept the British and the Italian maybe and making the rest 14 rounds in Asia+Ozeania... (Malaysia, China, Japan, Quatar, Bahrin, Australia, ...)

What makes you think he wants to keep the British Grand Prix? Bernie wants to take the circus to where nowhere gives a toss about F1.

Quote from duke_toaster :

What makes you think he wants to keep the British Grand Prix? Bernie wants to take the circus to where nowhere gives a toss about F1.

isn't he british?

i was reading the other day that dubai may pay for a new us grand prix on a street course in vegas, apparently they own a lot of businesses there and are keen to help promote it ( not that vegas needs much more promotion!). maybe they could persuade porsche to save the german gp, acording to car mag, they are about to be the first car manufacturer to who's yearly profits will be higher than their turnover thanks to their shares in vw increasing in value by 6 billion euro !!!!!

Quote from TFalke55 :

okey... German GP is one of the GPs with the oldest traditions, driving on the Nürburgring until the seventies exept once the AVUS then going to hockenheim returning once to the new nürburgring and then coming back to hockenheim then the new hockenheim track and now the shared organisation...

It's really sad. There are several good tracks out there, wich could host a F1 GP and don't have these carpark feeling.

I smell something like Bernie is trying to get rid of the European GPs exept the British and the Italian maybe and making the rest 14 rounds in Asia+Ozeania... (Malaysia, China, Japan, Quatar, Bahrin, Australia, ...)

... I'm still for making up a new good formula one... maybe with similar tracks variety as A1GP does have

It's quite clear that Bernie couldn't care less about tradition and nostalgia, it doesn't make him enough pennies.

The only GP in Europe that will survive is Monaco, because they a) Pay a lot of money and b) They tell Bernie what to do, not the other way round.

Quote from TFalke55 :

isn't he british?

Yeah, but he doesn't care, he just wants to make money, I hope some kind of coup in f1 happens soon.

Quote from tinvek :

they are about to be the first car manufacturer to who's yearly profits will be higher than their turnover thanks to their shares in vw increasing in value by 6 billion euro !!!!!

Porsche is only in a good financial position because they don't make silly investments like a racing venue. Did you know that they spent exactly 0 € on their motorsport department in the last few years?

It's simple - if the venue isn't profitable theres no reason to have it. Throwing F1 out of the calendar will leave both Hockenheim and Nürburgring much better looking financially.
At least I'm not asking F1 to stay. There are much better things to spend 5 mil. € on than a F1 race.

Vain

Quote from TFalke55 :

isn't he british?

Yes, but he's still done his best trying to remove the GP and sent it to a venue which may or may not be ready for 2010.

Racing used to be a good way for Car manufacturers to develop and promote technology, but rule changes such as standard drivetrains have killed off this very importnat part of top level racing, international racing is slowly dieing me thinks.

Quote from 5haz :

Racing used to be a good way for Car manufacturers to develop and promote technology, but rule changes such as standard drivetrains have killed off this very importnat part of top level racing, international racing is slowly dieing me thinks.

There's a possibility that international racing could maintain its popularity and prestige. but if it comes to the point where F1 completely goes down the drain then the audience has to be willing to accept a replacement such as A1GP or GP2 can kick up their standards and become the next pinnacle. This is mirrored with NASCAR/NA racing fans as they have to accept IndyCar as their new motorsport now since that ChampCar is dead and NASCAR's future is not looking well at all (but then there's always ARCA for diehard stock car fans).

Of course this is very difficult to achieve since many believe that F1 is irreplaceable (or the pinnacle years of F1 is irrplaceable) just as stock car NA fans would probably never migrate to IndyCar. All depends on the audience.

At this rate Bernie will have to cut down on his new private jet and mansion as he will be lacking funds from these tracks, might even let him consider lowing the price to hold such an event, oh wait don't worry! were talking about the old greedy man thats in control of f1, it will never happen!

I'm surprised the teams didn't run away from F1 yet tbh.

Quote from evilpimp :

I'm surprised the teams didn't run away from F1 yet tbh.

Give it time, Ferrari and the other manufacturers will run a mile if they are forced to use spec engines. Ferrari already have a replacement in A1GP, it's getting more popular and it wouldn't suprise me if ITV made a bid for the coverage to replace F1.

this is the great problem with F1 at the moment, no one wants standardised parts as the manufacturers want to design their own stuff and the fans expect it but at the same time it might only take a small further drop in trading figures for some of those manufacturers to decide to pull the plug, if by then the costs / customer car ban have driven (for example) force india and and torro rosso out, we could be left with a championship with only 12 cars in it and the remaining teams may not think they can afford to run third cars in fact the remaining manufacturers may decide that there is no point competing if the championship is worthless