Mercedes Motorsports Head Toto Wolff said that the German Grand Prix "is suffering from a hangover after the years of dominance by Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher," according to Parkes & Barretto of AUTOSPORT. The '17 edition of the race is set to be held in Hockenheim.
Attendances "have dwindled in Germany since Schumacher retired, and despite Vettel and then Mercedes' success crowd numbers have failed to recover."
This year's Hockenheim race day attracted just 57,000 fans, which although higher than '14 was still "well below the levels required for the circuit to break even," with a full-weekend attendance of 122,000.
In contrast, Austin reported a record attendance of 269,889 for the three-day U.S. GP weekend while Mexico reported 339,969 for its recent weekend.
When asked why those two relatively new races are able to draw "such big crowds while Germany cannot," Wolff said there was no "simple solution."
Wolff: "If you look at Austin the crowd was great. What has been organized around it has been great with lots of innovation for the fans.
We need to look beyond the tip of our nose and how we can activate the fans which we have lost."
Austin's organizers signed Taylor Swift "for a concert on Saturday night to attract a younger audience and boost sales."
Wolff admitted it is not easy for GP circuits but suggested "the key to success lies in better promotion and an improved all-round experience." He joked, "Well if Taylor Swift is the answer then get Taylor Swift" (AUTOSPORT, 11/8).
