German fans appear to be losing interest in F1
25 July, 2012
Jul.25 (GMM) German journalist Michael Schmidt has expressed concern about the half-empty grandstands at Hockenheim during the German Grand Prix weekend.
In Auto Motor und Sport, he said he was “surprised” by the “lack of interest” in the German grand prix amid the fascinating 2012 season.
Indeed, Germans have seldom had more to cheer about in F1, with the grid boasting legend Michael Schumacher, the reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel, three other race drivers and the Stuttgart marque Mercedes.
But only 38,000 spectators attended on Friday, 50,000 for qualifying and 62,000 for Sunday’s race.
In 2005 there were 110,000 spectators on the Sunday, declining to 78,000 in 2008 and 65,000 two years ago.
“Certainly, the ticket prices are extremely high and the financial crisis has an effect, but isn’t this also true in England and Spain?” wrote Schmidt.
Indeed, in crisis-gripped Spain, 82,000 spectators turned out to watch Fernando Alonso in May.
Hockenheim boss Georg Seiler said that the attendance figures for this year’s race has allowed the circuit to break even.
Subbed by AJN.
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drop prices and more people will attend.
Look at it this way… as a spectator, $100 a ticket doesn’t sound like much right? ok, drop it down to $50 a ticket and me and my friend or family member will go because now we know 1+1 equals 2 people attending and that is alot more attracting to me then $100 ticket. Im using $100 as an example. I dont think many people go to races by themselves unless your a journalist or photographer.
SILVERSTONE Attendees Had To Manage Heavy Rain And Mud, And They Still Came In Droves For All The 3 Days.
Of Course Tickets Are Too Expensive, But Why The Difference Between .UK And .DE ?
Go, HAMILTON !
Stop whining! Don’t watch it if you don’t like it. There are some things that I don’t like about current F1 either, but I still think that Formula 1 is absolutely great. If only that greedy and senile Bernie would stay away from F1 as far as possible then things would certainly get only better. I seriously hate that old-timer.
@disgusted with 2012
you must be German then
I know from within my own small circle, interest in F1 has dropped significantly since the intro of spec garbage tires, passing aides, and hostility toward innovative teams. F1 2012 looks like a reality TV series with faked drama at each turn of events – moving further and further away from its roots as the hotbed of imaginative technology it once was. Indy racing went down this road decades ago and has never recovered from it – all in the name of putting on a better show for fewer and fewer attendees. To illustrate: With today’s structure, innovative leaps like the Cooper T51, Lotus 79, Ferrari 312T, Williams FW07, et al, will never happen again. How is this still F1?
20,000 more people at Valencia than at Hockenheim.
And probably 30,000 more than will attend Spa.
Makes you wonder why all those people that say ‘traditional’ circuits are best, don’t actually visit them.