Franz Tost feels disappointed with the recent downfall of interest from Germany in Formula 1.
Germany has been a big name in Formula 1. The European country has produced three world champions and one of the most dominant drivers of all time – Michael Schumacher.
During the Schumacher era with Ferrari, it was considered the golden age of both F1 and Germany. Regardless, there will be only one driver on the grid this year.
After Mick Schumacher was replaced by his German counterpart Nico Hulkenberg last year, it leaves only Hulkenberg as the sole representative of Germany.
AlphaTauri team principal feels a little disappointed by this fact. The Austrian thinks that Hulkenberg alone is not enough to draw the German attention back to the sport. He clarified that Mick Schumacher’s career would determine Germany’s interest in the sport:
“Mick’s career determines the interest in Germany,”
Tost told Auto Bild.
“Nico Hülkenberg cannot do it alone.”
“They [the German public] wanted to see Michael Schumacher win back then and not the engine or the car from Mercedes. Only heroes trigger a boom. As Michael Schumacher showed.“
“The second example is Boris Becker. Before him, interest in tennis was more reserved for the affluent citizens. That changed abruptly with the success of Boris and Steffi Graf. Suddenly all the kids wanted to play tennis.“
“He could have become the new hero, but unfortunately he’s out of F1 for now. What a shame.”
Germany is spoiled – Franz Tost
Tost also mentioned that he feels Germany to be “spoiled” as a nation – mostly because of its success in both football and in F1 with Michael Schumacher:
“Germany is spoiled,”
Tost added.
“You can even feel it in football. I’m convinced that the lack of interest at the last World Cup also has something to do with the poor results of the national team.”
“If they had reached the final, half of Germany would have followed the games in Qatar as well. One thing is certain: people need heroes, and they need them made of flesh and blood, not metal.”
Germany has a manufacturer in the sport – Mercedes which is doing extremely well for a decade now. And another manufacturer joining the grid in 2026.
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