Germany has been off the Formula 1 calendar since 2019, and for most of that time the sport's answer to the question of a return has been a shrug. That changed this week: Hockenheim made the first move, and F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali confirmed the conversation has already happened.
"It was Hockenheim that connected with us, and they had the first discussion," Domenicali told The Race. "As you know, they are developing the motorsport park there with a different objective."
The circuit passed to new investors in 2024. The emodrom group, which holds 74.99% of the shares, has earmarked around EUR250 million to expand its Porsche Experience Centre and build a hotel and a Motorworld visitor centre. None of that spending is aimed at a grand prix, which is precisely Domenicali's point.
"If they want to discuss a possible F1 event, of course the investment needs to be different - because our platform needs to have a different kind of investment," he said. "But we have discussed that."
Speaking to Auto Motor und Sport, Domenicali framed it as a long game rather than a deal in progress: "We're not just thinking about the short term, but about a longer-term collaboration."
Hockenheimring managing director Jorn Teske is noticeably cooler about where this stands. "We are in regular contact with Formula 1," he told the same publication. "We want to get a comprehensive picture of the framework and what the opportunities and risks are. There is interest, but at this time we have no results to report."
Asked by German broadcaster RTL whether both sides wanted a race, Teske was clear that intent is not the obstacle. "That both sides want this has been communicated often enough," he said. "As always, we would be interested in an economically viable solution."
That last phrase is the whole problem. Toto Wolff, whose Mercedes team is German-owned and who has watched Audi arrive on the grid, told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung last year that the difficulty is nobody in Germany is willing to carry the risk, with promoters too attached to old structures. He pointed to Silverstone as proof that a grand prix can work commercially without direct government money.
Domenicali's wider argument is that the continent has become a seller's market again after years of F1 chasing growth elsewhere.
"We are watching, of course, the growth of the United States," he said. "We are watching the growth of Europe, because it's becoming an important market again, because the growth, the numbers, are there."
Europe is not queuing alone. Rwanda and South Africa have registered interest in an African round, with Domenicali saying "negotiations are progressing very well in Africa". Thailand and South Korea are in the Asian mix, Argentina is the obvious South American candidate on the back of Franco Colapinto's popularity, and both China and Japan have asked for second races. Domenicali ruled the last of those out for now: "We have more requests in China and Japan. But for the moment, we want to stay with one race in China because we need to consolidate the market stronger, before thinking to have another option there."
Hockenheim's timing is not accidental. Four Middle Eastern rounds on the provisional 2027 calendar - Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi - are in doubt while the conflict in the region continues, and F1 has committed to 24 races regardless. LBC listed Hockenheim and the Nurburgring among the Grade 1 venues available as substitutes, alongside Imola, Mugello, Paul Ricard, Sepang and Kyalami. A German circuit that is mid-renovation and already talking to F1 is a more convenient fallback than most.
"I don't think that this could be a long-term approach because we need to be credible and consistent," he said. "But I really hope that the situation of the world would allow us to go back to a normal situation with the right country in which we would like to hold the grand prix. What we did with Bahrain and Malaysia was fantastic because we really wanted to allow the Bahrain Grand Prix to be part of it."
Verstappen won the last German Grand Prix, at Hockenheim in 2019. Getting a second one takes more than nostalgia and a hotel.
---
*Originally published on [News Formula One](https://newsformula.one/article/hockenheim-calls-f1-about-a-german-gp-return-at-a-price). Visit for full coverage.*