Lauda: German GP axe "sad" but inevitable
Niki Lauda has described the official demise of Mercedes' home race this year as "sad".
The F1 legend and Mercedes team chairman confirmed reports that the German carmaker made efforts to save the July 19 race, as circuit promoters and Bernie Ecclestone ultimately failed to agree.
"This is just sad," Lauda told the German broadcaster RTL.
However, he refused to blame Ecclestone, even though Mercedes reportedly made an offer to promote the German Grand Prix this year and pay half the financial loss.
"Mercedes tried to help," said Lauda, "but it was not accepted.
"But the conditions are the same everywhere in the world. If there is no promoter in Germany that can do what the other countries manage to do to run a Grand Prix, then this is how it is," he added.
Will it hurt ratings?
Less forgiving is fellow former F1 driver Christian Danner, who said Friday's news from the Geneva meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council was "a slap in the face for all motor sport fans in Germany".
"I find it very unfortunate that there was no institution that could have prevented this," he added.
However, spectator numbers as well as television ratings have been sharply declining within Germany in the past years.
For the 2015 season opener in Melbourne, only 1.8 million Germans tuned in to RTL's free-to-air coverage, compared with 3.1 million exactly a year ago.
The demise of the 2015 German Grand Prix could now hurt ratings even more.
"As the broadcasting network, we are obviously disappointed about this cancellation," said RTL Sport's Manfred Loppe.
"The German Grand Prix was a highlight of the racing calendar for us, so we hope strongly that this is just a one-off."
Share Or Save This Story
The season is still very long - Rosberg
Jules Bianchi's father speaks of family's continued hopes
Sauber under no illusions about constructors' position
Vettel claims F1 is losing its DNA – but does it even exist?
NIKI Awards 2025: Toto Wolff honoured as Gerhard Berger and Helmut Marko also recognised
Niki Lauda’s first F1 title 50 years ago, in his own words
“This is a serious matter”–why the FIA just fined Racing Bulls €30,000
Max Verstappen’s feet were “flying off the pedals” as Red Bull explains Montreal struggles
NASCAR Truck race at Charlotte postponed by rain after emotional pre-race
Jolyon Palmer explains Canadian GP energy management challenge
How Bruce McLaren’s early years set the team on the path to success
Behind the scenes at Pirelli: The hidden factors that go into developing F1 tyres
Where you can find the best battles of F1 2026
Why quirky Montreal will remain F1's true North American gem
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments