With Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher, two regular German drivers are driving in Formula 1 this season. But as early as next year there could be no more Germans in the motorsport premier class. According to Ralf Schumacher, the decline is related to the extremely high costs.
In the 2010 season, with Nico Rosberg, Nico Hülkenberg, Timo Glock, Adrian Sutil, Nick Heidfeld, Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel, a total of seven German drivers competed in Formula 1. In recent years, the number of German stars has decreased. This trend will probably continue.
Finally, Sebastian Vettel ended his successful career at the end of the season. However, Mick Schumacher does not yet have a contract for 2023. In addition, there should not be any new German drivers in Formula 1 in the near future.
“Then we just have to sell Max Verstappen as a German,” joked Ralf Schumacher in an interview with “sports1“, but made it clear: “Formula 1 in Germany and all of motorsport here have a problem.”
“Who can and wants to afford that?”
Motorsport has “simply become much too expensive,” said the TV expert. “In many other countries it is therefore state-funded. Not in Germany. It is therefore no wonder that there are hardly any talents left who have what it takes to make it into Formula 1,” explained Schumacher.
“When Michael started, the boys suddenly all wanted to go karting. Even if it was expensive back then, the parents spent the money on it. Today that’s no longer the case. A normal karting season costs a good 200,000 euros. The junior series start at 500,000 . Who can and wants to afford that?” the former Formula 1 driver remarked.
Whether there will be another German pilot in the premier class next season depends on Mick Schumacher’s future. Haas has not yet offered a new contract. The coming weeks should provide some clues.