Toto Wolff reveals Merc offered to underwrite half of any 2015 losses
Saturday 28 March 2015 13:09, UK
A disappointed Nico Rosberg has admitted that it “feels wrong” that his home German GP will not take place this season.
Despite hope that an 11th-hour deal could be struck for the historic event to stay on the 2015 schedule, the FIA confirmed last week that the race had been cancelled after neither the Nurburging, the scheduled hosts, nor Hockenheim could agree a deal.
The race’s demise means that Germany will not feature in the season for just the third time in F1’s history, with its last absence coming back in 1960.
And Rosberg, who won last year’s event for Mercedes at Hockenheim and is one of three German drivers on the 2015 grid, told Sky Sports News HQ: “It feels wrong to have a Formula 1 World Championship without the German GP.
“The German GP is just legendary. It’s very strange and very surprising. It’s disappointing.”
Under the terms of the German venues' long-standing race share agreement, the Nurburgring had been slated to stage the 2015 race but the circuit’s new owners failed to agree a deal with Bernie Ecclestone. Hockenheim subsequently held talks about stepping in but ultimately decided that the timeframe before the scheduled July race was too short to make a success of the event with tickets having not yet gone on sale.
The failure of either circuit to secure a deal comes despite Toto Wolff, the head of Mercedes motorsport, revealing that the manufacturer offered to underwrite half of any losses suffered by a 2015 German GP.
Rosberg and Wolff were speaking in Malaysia ahead of this weekend’s second round of the season where world champions Mercedes will aim to build on their dominant start to the season in Australia.
In keeping with the theme from the closing months of last season, it was Lewis Hamilton rather than Rosberg who led the way in Melbourne to claim the early 2015 championship lead. The German driver has only once finished ahead of his team-mate on the last eight occasions both cars have made the chequered flag, and although not pinning particular significance on winning at Sepang, Rosberg admits he is keen to turn the tables.
“It’s not crucial because it’s still early days in the championship, but every race is important," Rosberg said.
“So of course my aim is to turn it round this weekend.”
Sky Sports F1 will show every session from the Malaysia Grand Prix weekend live and available on the move with Sky Go. The race starts at 8am on Sunday, with comprehensive build-up underway from 6:30am.
