Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel recently revealed that he fears he will not get another opportunity to drive a race on home soil in Germany, given the rapidly evolving F1 calendar. With the Miami GP added to the calendar this season and another American race added next year in Las Vegas, several European countries, including Germany, Spain, and Monaco, are rumored to potentially lose out on their spot on the F1 calendar.
As reported by PlanetF1, Vettel, who has recently increasingly been speaking about moving on from the sport, claimed that he may never get the chance to drive in front of his home crowd again. The German said:
“I don’t know if Germany will make it in time for me. But obviously I had the privilege to race in Germany for many years. I think in the end, if you look at the places we are going, Germany is not prepared to pay that sort of money to have the grand prix. Simple as that. Other regions, other countries in Europe are struggling. I think Spa is a very good example. And it’s a shame what we saw last year, with the rain cancelling the race and the people not getting a refund on their tickets.”
Harking back to the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel added, saying:
“But to blame Spa I think would be wrong because they are already struggling to make up the money they lose in the first place. So I don’t know, I’m not the developer of the sport and I’m not setting the business plan and the targets. But clearly, you can see the places we are going and the new venues we are going, it’s great to explore but it’s also money-driven for the sport, I guess, to develop the way they want to develop.”
Admitting that he doubts Germany will be hosting an F1 race any time soon, he said:
“But yeah, it’s a shame losing out in Germany. It would be a shame losing out on Spa. It would be a shame losing out on Spain, which there was a lot to talk about. And if those countries are not ready to pay the high entry fees anymore, they will fall off that list. And that would be a shame. Certainly some races you would think have a guarantee, such as Silverstone, Monza. But I don’t know. We’ll see what happens in the next years. It would be great if Germany was back on the calendar, but I doubt it.”
The last German Grand Prix that took place was in the 2019 season, when Sebastian Vettel finished behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen in second.
Sebastian Vettel needs to "look in the mirror", says Ralf Schumacher
Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher recently commented on the incident between Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher that cost both Germans significant points at the Miami GP. He emphasized that the contact made between both cars was an avoidable mistake made by Vettel, whilst admitting that his nephew could have also helped avoid the incident.
As reported by PlanetF1, Schumacher said:
“Mick [Schumacher] can’t just vanish into thin air. Sebastian [Vettel] has to look in the mirror. Mick has to try it there but you can see that he hesitates a bit. He might not have had to do that at all, because then he could have cornered just by braking a little later.”
What could have resulted in Mick Schumacher's first career points, turned out to be another missed opportunity in Florida.