Mercedes won’t ‘interfere’ with German GP’s F1 future

Mercedes will not “interfere” with any decision regarding the uncertain future of the German Grand Prix and its place on the Formula 1 calendar.

The German manufacturer helped save the Hockenheim event for 2019 after striking an agreement that saw Mercedes become the race’s title sponsor following talks between F1 bosses and team management.

Despite its short-term deal to retain its place on the calendar for this year, Germany looks set to be axed for 2020 with the addition of two new races in Vietnam and the Netherlands. Next year’s calendar looks set to feature an unprecedented 22 races with the Spanish Grand Prix understood to be closing on a fresh deal despite the suggestion this year's race at Barcelona could be the last. 

“The deal came up pretty spontaneously,” Mercedes boss Toto Wolff explained about the manufacturer’s deal for the 2019 round.

"We had a meeting on Sunday morning with Chase [Carey] and Sean [Bratches], and they said, 'Would you be able to help us [in] bridging the gap?'

"And in half an hour we bartered out a deal in order to make the German GP happen. But this is not something which we are in a position to continue.

“Also because I believe that we shouldn't really be interfering in the business of Liberty and F1 - it is up to them to decide which tracks are on or off.

"I believe it's really encouraging that there is lots of interest in hosting a race," he added.

"Liberty has the great problem of having more demand than supply, and that is good, and also good for the teams, because fundamentally we share a large part of the prize fund.

"And this is where I would like to leave it, because it's Chase's and his team's call to decide where we go.

"For us the German GP is important, because Daimler is a German company, and there are lots of family and friends in Germany, but we can't interfere in their business."