F1 will not return to Nurburgring

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone does not believe Formula One will return to Germany’s Nurburgring.

The 2015 German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring was cancelled due to ongoing financial difficulties.

It was the first time in 55 years that Formula One had not visited Germany as part of the official Formula One calendar.

For 2016, Formula One will return to Germany and will race at Hockenheim, but as part of a race-share agreement between the two tracks in 2017 Formula One is suppose to return to the Nurburgring.

‘We strive for a Formula 1 race in 2017 and are in appropriate discussions with Bernie Ecclestone. The topic of Formula 1 is not off the table.’ Nurburgring’s chief executive Carsten Schumacher told Motorsport Total in November.

However, according to Ecclestone those discussions have not gone well and the likelyhood of a 41st Grand Prix behind held at the Nurburgring looks faint.

I don’t believe that this will happen, We can say for sure, that there will be no race.’ Ecclestone told Germany’s Motorsport-Magazin and quoted by Sky Sports.

‘It’s a pity, because when the Nurburgring was for sale, I agreed to buy it, They came back to me and told me that they have a better offer.

‘Maybe one or two millions higher than my offer. I said: ‘I made only one offer. If somebody wants to pay more, sell it to him.’ They’ve sold it to a person and this person resold it.

‘The stupidity was: Because of two millions they’ve lost somebody, who had guaranteed, that there would have been races for 100 years and who would have tried to improve the things [at the track]. They ran away for a few dollars more.

‘And what did they achieve? It is disappointing and annoying for me. That’s why we’ve lost the Nurburgring.’