Tuesday's announcement that the German F1 Grand Prix will take place at the Nürburgring for at least five years starting in '15 "has infuriated the alternative host of the event, the Hockenheimring," according to the DPA. Hockenheimring Managing Dir Georg Seiler said, "I find it outrageous to make such an announcement public at this moment, only a short time before our grand prix." F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone "confirmed negotiations with the Nürburgring on Tuesday," saying, "I've met with the people from Capricorn and talked with them about how we could reach a long-term agreement. I'm willing to do it." Ecclestone also "hinted at an exit clause in the contract with the Hockenheimring." The contract "reportedly has an exit clause in case a race organizer can sign a contract to better conditions anywhere else in Germany." Ecclestone: "We will respect the contract with Hockenheim. If we agree to a long-term deal with the Nürburgring, then the best option is to terminate the existing contract and start the new one as early as 2015." The Hockenheimring will host this year's German Grand Prix on July 20 (DPA, 6/17). FOXSPORTS reported that Seiler told the Mannheimer Morgen newspaper, "We have a contract and it has no exit clause. The fact is that we will have a Grand Prix at Hockenheim in 2016 and 2018. Everything else is speculation" (FOXSPORTS, 6/18). In Sydney, Christian Schultz reported that the deal "has left in doubt" the future of the Hockenheimring (NINEMSN, 6/18).
