“Dramatic”: No German Formula 1 driver in sight for years?

– It is no secret that Formula 1 is currently not experiencing a boom in Germany. Although Audi will join Mercedes as a second German manufacturer in the top class from the 2026 season, there has only been one German driver in the starting lineup for years: Nico Hülkenberg.

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And since Hülkenberg will already be 39 in August, it is urgently time for a new German driver in the top class again. But currently, none is in sight. “It is still dramatic in my eyes,” says expert Timo Glock in the podcast Starting Grid about the youth situation in Germany.

The former Toyota factory driver recalls: “We had two Grands Prix in Germany, we once had seven Formula 1 drivers [at the same time]. That shows where we once were, and if you now draw a line under where we are now, it is simply sad to watch.”

Although a driver with a German license, Oliver Goethe, will start in the 2026 Formula 2 season, the 21-year-old is only 14th in the championship and has no realistic prospects of a cockpit in the top class. In Formula 3, there will be no German driver at all in 2026.

“In the end, the support is no longer there in Germany. It all costs an incredible amount of money. No one can afford it anymore,” explains Glock and emphasizes: “This explosion of costs is of course also a huge issue in motorsport.”

“It has become incredibly expensive, and that is also the case in youth racing,” says the expert, who explains that for some talents even karting was already too expensive, which is why, for example, they preferred to go into the BMW 318 Ti Cup, “because it was significantly cheaper.”

It is sad, “that German talents do not have the opportunity to be supported,” says Glock. That is “the crux that has kind of broken our necks in recent years, that unfortunately nothing is happening in terms of youth development in Germany anymore.”

Does Germany need a Grand Prix again?

The current situation shows “that at the moment there is really no concept and all manufacturers have withdrawn, which is of course a shame,” says the expert. In addition, Germany also lacks its own Formula 1 race as a “drawcard.”

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The last time the top class raced in Germany was in the corona season 2020 at the Nürburgring. The last race in Hockenheim was even one year earlier. This annoys Glock, who, however, is not surprised given the circumstances.

“It cannot be that we are somehow the only country that cannot manage it,” he says and explains: “All around us, they manage to hold a Formula 1 Grand Prix. We can’t manage it, which is of course largely due to politics.”

“You can also see that at the race tracks,” says Glock, who explains that the Nürburgring or Hockenheimring would first have to upgrade to become attractive for Formula 1 again. But currently, the funds are missing.

Photo series: The contract durations of the current Formula 1 tracks

“If you can’t invest in a race track for three or four years, then you are simply already a few steps behind,” explains Glock, who sees the Hungaroring as an example here. There have been massive investments at the race track in Hungary in recent years.

As a “reward,” there was a new Formula 1 contract until the end of 2032. “It would of course also be nice to see if that can be achieved again in Germany,” says Glock, emphasizing: “Hockenheimring or Nürburgring would like to do it.”

“But in the end, it is a very clear business. If I end up with a loss of 15 to 20 million [euros], then I have made a bad deal. That doesn’t bring much,” he knows. Although Formula 1 boss Stefano Domenicali recently stated that they would like to have a race in Germany again “in the medium term.”

However, he also made it clear that “investments” would be necessary in Hockenheim to make this possible.

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