Why the German Grand Prix's future is so bleak

Why the German Grand Prix's future is so bleak

From hosting two well-attended F1 races per year to one sparsely attended event every two seasons, where did it all go so wrong for Germany in the space of just a few years?

In a single number, the German Grand Prix weekend encapsulated everything that is wrong with Formula 1's marketing and, equally, that of other international motorsport series. That number is 57,000, and represents not only the race day attendance last Sunday, but exactly half the attendance at the very same Hockenheim circuit, run on the very same track layout, a decade ago.

The 2006 and '16 grands prix were even held on virtually the same date, give or take a week, in Germany's traditional window. But if - and F1 is IF spelt backwards - a great deal of thought went into this year's calendar slot, then in the process it was clearly overlooked that within a three-week period, Germany was slated to host as many high-profile motorsport events.

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