"We are interested in returning to Germany, but with the right organiser and the right offer," says F1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali.

This year will see two German teams on the F1 grid as Audi joins eight-time champion constructor Mercedes.

However, in an era where some teams claim two or three events as being 'home' races, neither Mercedes not Audi will actually get to race on home soil, nor will Nico Hulkenberg.

It's a far cry from the 'Schumacher era', when, alongside the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim, the Nurburgring hosted the European and Luxembourg Grands Prix.

Post 2006, as interest in Germany began to dwindle, and money became an increasing concern, the German round alternated between both circuits. However, in 2015 the Nurburgring withdrew leaving Hockenheim to host the 2016, 2018 and 2019 events before it too succumbed to financial pressures, Mercedes having had to help out with the hosting fee for the final race.

In 2020, when the sport was struggling to put a schedule together during the pandemic, like so many other tracks, the Nurburgring was brought out of mothballs to host the Eifel Grand Prix.

Ironically, at the wheel of a Mercedes, it was at the Eifel Grand Prix that Lewis Hamilton equalled Michael Schumacher's record of most (91) race wins, the German having won his home race four times, while countrymen Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg won it once, as did Ralf Schumacher.

Asked, now that there are two German teams on the grid, if Germany might return to the schedule, Domenicali was unable to offer much genuine hope.

"We are open and prepared for any kind of discussion," he told Motorsport Magazin. "I see some signs of optimism," he added, "and I hope this will evolve in the coming months.

"We are interested in returning to Germany," he insisted, "but with the right organiser and the right offer."

However, though the Italian was team boss for Fernando Alonso's two wins at Hockenheim in 2010 and 2012, and in 2014 was hired by Audi, his closing remarks offer little genuine hope to German F1 fans... or indeed German F1 teams.

"The good thing is that we're not desperate, because we have many requests from all over the world," he said. "If the German market doesn't see a return to Formula 1 as a priority, we have to accept it and look ahead."