Greed in Formula One as Germany dropped for 2015

If you want to see Formula One live and you’re from Germany, you could bank on Monza so to speak.

Germany will not host a race of this year’s Formula One world championship, after the FIA issued a revised calendar on Friday listing 19 races. Neither of the two traditional tracks used were able to reach an agreement with Bernie Ecclestone, who undoubtedly was demanding princely sums of money for the right to stage a race in the faltering series.

Germany of course was the home of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher. Moreover, though Germany is home to Daimler whose Mercedes brand won the championship last season with the help of driver Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel. Vettel, a four-time champion with Red Bull who now drives for Ferrari is also German.

Either Hockenheim or the Nürburgring – which had previously shared the race under an agreement that alternated venues – apparently walked away from the series, which has seen attendance and viewership decrease in recent years as grids shrank and some teams choose only to race at certain venues to decrease costs. Speculation has it that Ecclestone refuses to rent the tracks and/or share revenue, demanding instead that the tracks pay Formula One hefty fees.

The change to the F1 calendar means there will now be a three-week gap between Grands Prix in Great Britain and Hungary, which play host to Formula One racing on the first and last weekends of July respectively.