Hockenheim opens F1 return talks with Domenicali

Formula 1 has reopened discussions with Hockenheim over a possible long-term return of the German Grand Prix, with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali saying the circuit made the first approach but warning that extra investment will be needed before any comeback can happen.

Domenicali said the talks reflect Europe becoming important to Formula 1 again, but made clear that Hockenheim’s current modernization plans do not by themselves meet what the championship now expects. He said Hockenheim is developing its motorsport park and upgrading the circuit, but that "if they want to talk about a possible Formula 1 return, more investment will be needed" because F1’s platform now demands a higher level of spending.

That puts the focus on whether Hockenheim’s new owners are willing to go beyond the redevelopment already under way. The emodrom group now holds 74.99% of the shares in the circuit and has earmarked about €250 million for a broader site expansion, including an enlarged Porsche Experience Centre, a new hotel and a Motorworld facility.

Germany has not had a place on the Formula 1 calendar since Hockenheim last hosted the German Grand Prix in 2019. The Nürburgring’s 2020 Eifel race was only a one-off replacement, and a full return never followed as rising hosting fees and the absence of public subsidy left a German race commercially difficult to sustain.

Hockenheim has not presented the talks as being further advanced than that. Jorn Teske, Hockenheim’s managing director, told auto motor und sport that the circuit is "in regular contact with Formula 1" and is trying to build a full picture of the framework, opportunities and risks around any project. He said there is interest, but "at the current time we have no results to report," adding that any Grand Prix plan would need to be economically viable.

Even with first talks under way, Hockenheim is not negotiating from a position of urgency on Formula 1’s side. Domenicali has said the championship’s short-term calendar is already "quite well-sorted," and he pointed to a queue of other candidates for future races across several regions.

That leaves any German return dependent on more than nostalgia or a reopened line of communication. Hockenheim has put itself back in the conversation, but only a financial model that satisfies both the circuit and Formula 1 will turn those early discussions into a realistic path back onto the calendar.