Mercedes is not going to save the German GP.
When Hockenheim also looked doomed a year ago, the German carmaker and multiple reigning championship winner stepped in with key sponsorship that was impossible to not notice at the 2019 race.
Mercedes' naming sponsor advertising was all over the circuit, and the team used a special livery and wore vintage clothing to mark 125 years in motor racing.
But Hockenheim now looks set to be left off the 2020 schedule.
Can't Mercedes step in again?
"For this one we tried to help as best as we could," team boss Toto Wolff told Speed Week.
"The agreement we made last year was quite spontaneous, but we are unable to go on and on.
"I also believe that we should not interfere in the business side of Formula 1 and Liberty Media," he added. "It's up to them to decide where we go and where we do not."