Hockenheim’s chances of holding the German Grand Prix in 2010 appear to have been boosted after circuit bosses said a meeting with Bernie Ecclestone had left them “quite confident” that a solution could be found.
The German venue – which currently shares its country’s race with the Nurburgring – last week lost local government financial backing after the city council, which also holds a majority shareholding in the track, said it was no longer prepared to fund the loss-making event.
With the circuit scheduled to return to the calendar next year for the final year of its existing F1 contract, the announcement raised the spectre that the sport might not return to the historic venue at all – although local mayor Dieter Gummer did confirm that talks would continue to see if a solution was possible.
The latest round of discussions took place with Ecclestone this week, with circuit boss Karl-Josef Schmidt, managing director Georg Seiler and Gummer meeting F1’s commercial supremo in London.
According to the German news agency dpa, Schmidt said he was “quite confident” that the race would take place in 2010 as planned and claimed Ecclestone was keen to keep Hockenheim on the calendar.
“There is a noticeable will from Mr Ecclestone to keep Formula 1 at the Hockenheimring,” dpa quoted Schmidt as saying.
However, the circuit boss admitted “the matter is time critical” with a decision on the race’s future needed soon so to give organisers enough time to prepare for next year’s event.
Ecclestone is understood to be meeting with Baden-Württembergs prime minister Günther Oettinger at the Nurburgring when the circuit hosts this year’s German round next weekend.
Hockenheim and the Nurburgring agreed to alternate as the host venue of the German round from 2007 in order to share the massive cost of staging a race and keep the nation on the calendar.
Although German drivers and carmakers retain a big presence in Formula 1, local spectator interest had began to dwindle even before national hero Michael Schumacher called time on his record-breaking career at the end of 2006.
Hockenheim city council’s announcement that it could no longer afford to underwrite its race came after the event ran at a loss of €5.3 million in 2008, with the prospect of losses closer to €6m next year.
The Nurburgring has previously indicated it may not be able to afford the cost of hosting a yearly race if Hockenheim pulls out of F1.