The German Grand Prix has often suffered with problems in recent times keeping an F1 race in the country, and the latest area of concern is it’s ability to make the most of a race weekend and offer a decent support program. The answer? Ensure the Schumacher name is present.

With the mandate from Liberty Media that each Grand Prix weekend needs to be ‘like a Superbowl’, that too includes our Teutonic cousins and their famed penchant for ‘Razzmatazz’. The jury is out as to what they come up with but Liberty must be concerned as Hockenheim is struggling even to provide a full support race line up with the absence of both F1 feeder series F2 and GP3.

What is more surprising is that the organisers haven’t even approached DTM in officially, not that series boss Gerhard Berger would entertain such a move admitting to Auto Bild that he has yet to be asked but is unlikely to say yes.

“Last year, Formula One boss Chase Carey spoke to me about the possibility of the DTM in the framework program of Formula One” says Berger

“But I refused: I have to think about DTM first and I do not want to turn it into a shadow program. The DTM must always be the main attraction”

So far we have only confirmed F4 for the German Grand Prix in terms of a support race, and the organisers are relying on the famous Formula One name of Schumacher, albeit David, son of Ralf Schumacher, who will be racing in his fathers team.

This particular Schumacher is following in the footsteps of his cousin Mick Schumacher, son of Michael Schumacher, who debuted in German F4 in 2015, before narrowly missing out on the 2016 F4 title. Ex National German Championship DKM karter David is optimistic about his future and the family name returning to F1 having just finished as runner-up in the Arabian Formula 4, securing the rookie title on his first foray into single seaters.

“I’m really happy with my final result in the championship, second place in the overall standings and first place in the rookie classification. I missed the first of six weekends, so I think I can be happy with it, “he wrote on Instagram.

The F4 season starts on April 14 with the race weekend in Oschersleben. The long-term goal remains Formula 1.

“I definitely want to get into Formula One – and hopefully in a very good team. And I would like to be in Formula One with my cousin Mick.”