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Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone has confirmed that the Hockenheimring will host the 2015 German Grand Prix due to the Nürburgring’s continuing financial woes.
“It’s going to be at Hockenheim, we’re in the middle of doing something with them,” Ecclestone told Reuters.
“It can’t be Nürburgring because there’s nobody there.
“We’ve got a contract in place (with Hockenheim), we just have to amend the years of the contract. It was alternating with Nürburgring so we’ll just take that out.”
Since 2006 the two circuits have alternated hosting the race with this year scheduled to be the Nürburgring’s turn, however a change of ownership in 2014 and reports of growing financial difficulties left the track without a contract for this year.
When the 2015 calendar omitted a venue for the July 19 race, it increased speculation that Nürburgring would be dropped.
In 2014 Ecclestone failed in his bid to purchase the Nürburgring.
“We wanted to buy the Nürburgring, we made an offer and somebody topped us with a few dollars and bought it,” he said.
“And then they couldn’t pay and it went on sale again. I said I’d be interested and then they found somebody else. So I don’t know what’s happening.”
The Hockenheim ring hosted the German Grand Prix for the first time in 1970, after Formula One drivers boycotted the Nürburgring amid demands for increased safety.
Racing returned to the Nürburgring the following year, until the 1976 German Grand Prix where Niki Lauda was seriously injured in an horrific crash. From 1977 to 2006 the Hockenheim ring has hosted the German Grand Prix, except for 1985 when the race returned to a reconfigured Nürburgring.
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