{"id":16911,"date":"2025-07-23T02:36:08","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T02:36:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/16911\/"},"modified":"2025-07-23T02:36:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T02:36:08","slug":"the-25-race-calendar-to-solve-f1s-summer-blues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/16911\/","title":{"rendered":"The 25 race calendar to solve F1’s summer blues"},"content":{"rendered":"

F1 stars aboard their yachts in Sardinia. A disproportionate amount of drivers sporting Daniel Ricciardo<\/a> resortwear! You\u2019d be forgiven for thinking we\u2019ve already had the summer break the past couple of weeks. <\/p>\n

\nIn fact, F1\u2019s summer holiday is yet to come, with the official \u2018shutdown\u2019 taking place between the Hungarian Grand Prix and Zandvoort (specifically August 4 until August 29). <\/p>\n

\nHowever, the period between Silverstone and Spa has felt like a mini break<\/a>, with fans left pining for racing action over the past two weeks. <\/p>\n

\nAdmittedly, it does feel odd to have this gulf of time between races during the European season, especially in the place of former staple race on the F1 calendar<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\nF1 last raced in Germany in 2019, and since then there has been a huge-Hockenheim shaped hole in the schedule. <\/p>\n

German Grand Prix return should be F1\u2019s priority<\/p>\n

\nAs major global destinations such as Bangkok<\/a> and South Africa all compete for a place on the F1 grid, the likelihood of Hockenheim returning is fairly slim, although talks remain over a potential comeback. <\/p>\n

\nThe Hockenheimring is a 4.574km long circuit which has provided many thrilling F1 races over the years, with its mix of high-speed straights and tight and technical corners. <\/p>\n

\nSince the likes of Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel<\/a> have departed the sport, the German GP’s value has declined with Nico Hulkenberg the only local representative on the grid. <\/p>\n

\nFollowing Hulkenberg’s Silverstone heroics<\/a>, it would have been brilliant to see him jump straight into a race in front of a supportive Hockenheim crowd – and, oh what a race that could have been! <\/p>\n

Hockenheim has provided wet weather thrillers over the years<\/p>\n

\nHockenheim claims a thrilling place in F1 history, and is best remembered by younger audiences as the place where Sebastian Vettel lost the world title<\/a> to Lewis Hamilton in 2018. <\/p>\n

\nThe German driver was unable to control his Ferrari<\/a> in the wet weather, when a mistake at the Sachs curve saw him head straight into the gravel and he retired from the grand prix in front of his home crowd. <\/p>\n

\nIn 2019, Max Verstappen<\/a> stormed to a sensational victory in the rain during a chaotic afternoon at Hockenheim, proving early his credentials in torrential conditions. <\/p>\n

\nTumbling further back in time, Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen validated the track’s revisions in 2002 with a stunning wheel-to-wheel battle<\/a> at Hockenheim; while Damon Hill was deprived of his first F1 win in 1993 following a tyre blow out with two laps remaining. <\/p>\n

\nFinally, Hamilton stormed from the back of the grid at the 2014 German GP to produce a stunning double-overtake<\/a> on Daniel Ricciardo and Raikkonen for a podium position – although bodywork from Raikkonen\u2019s Ferrari was sacrificed in the process. <\/p>\n

\nReflecting on races from Hockenheim\u2019s past has only enhanced my sentimental memories, and clarified that it deserves a spot on the F1 calendar. <\/p>\n

\nThe European season feels empty without a German GP, and even F1\u2019s over-burdened teams could maybe forgive a 25th race on the calendar if it took place at Hockenheim – it definitely beats another street circuit! <\/p>\n

\nOf course, F1 should seek to expand across the globe, and it is a positive step for the sport to return to Africa and expand across South East Asia. <\/p>\n

\nHowever, if I had to choose between two Spanish grands prix and a return to Germany, Hockenheim would win every time. Sandwiching it between Silverstone and Spa\/Hungary, is a sure method to cure the F1 summer blues. <\/p>\n

\nF1 HEADLINES: McLaren chief wants FIA meeting as Max Verstappen on brink of Red Bull resurgence<\/a> <\/p>\n

\nREAD MORE: F1 world champions: Full list from Farina to four-time King Verstappen<\/a> <\/p>\n

\nREAD MORE: F1 drivers age: How old are Lewis Hamilton, Verstappen, Norris and co?<\/a> <\/p>\n

\nREAD MORE: Inside Hamilton’s staggering $450M net worth: Ferrari salary, real estate value & more<\/a><\/p>\n

Related <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"F1 stars aboard their yachts in Sardinia. A disproportionate amount of drivers sporting Daniel Ricciardo resortwear! You\u2019d be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16912,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[1687,3010,372,6537,6868,50,6867,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-16911","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-f1","8":"tag-f1","9":"tag-f1-calendar","10":"tag-formula-1","11":"tag-formula1","12":"tag-gpfans","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-sheona-mountford","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom","18":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16911"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16911\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}