F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone said that Germany -- home of world champions Mercedes -- "looks unlikely to host a Formula One Grand Prix this year but there is still time to secure a deal," according to Alan Baldwin of REUTERS. The 84-year-old Briton was speaking after Germany's Rhein Zeitung newspaper quoted him as saying there would be no race because "the visitor numbers were so poor in recent years that it is not economically viable." Ecclestone "confirmed a fax had been sent to the paper in response to a query but denied the matter had been decided." Ecclestone: "Who knows? There are two places (circuits) there. Wait and see. It's not looking good ... you can say that it (the race) looks unlikely but we are trying to rescue it. I don't want to lose it, for sure. We are trying our best" (REUTERS, 2/3). In London, Paul Weaver wrote Ecclestone declared that "a decision on this year’s event in July will be made by the weekend." The failure of the event in Germany "is one of the sport’s enduring mysteries given the country has in Mercedes the dominant team in modern F1 and two of the leading drivers of the current era in Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel." Then, of course, "there is Michael Schumacher, the most successful driver in the history of the sport." But at Hockenheim last year "there were just 52,000 spectators on race day, with only 45,000 at the Nürburgring the year before." Ecclestone: “They have not been selling enough tickets to make it work. It’s purely commercial, so I’m trying to be a little bit helpful to them" (GUARDIAN, 2/3).
ENGINE ISSUES: AUTOSPORT's Jonathan Noble wrote McLaren "has been forced to cut short Fernando Alonso's running on the penultimate day of pre-season Formula 1 testing at Jerez thanks to further Honda engine problems." The Woking-based team "had its most encouraging morning of the test so far on Tuesday, as Alonso completed a total of 32 laps." A tweet from the team said, "We've had a loss of cooling water pressure and have removed the power unit for inspection. That's a long process, so it ends today's running" (AUTOSPORT, 2/3).
