Zoom It remains to be decided if Hockenheim returns next year

The future of Hockenheim's Formula One race could become clear after a meeting on Wednesday.

It is reported that representatives of the financially embattled circuit and state Prime Minister Gunther Oettinger is scheduled to take place.

Oettinger, meanwhile, is seeking a meeting with F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone, the SID news agency also claims.

Hockenheim has said that, without a solution, Hockenheim will not return to the calendar in 2010 due to annual million-euro losses.

Circuit boss Karl Josef Schmidt said Wednesday's meeting is "crucial" to the outcome.

He said he is not in an overly optimistic mood, but: "If a Prime Minister sits down to talk, then it is not just for fun. "

And Schmidt added: "Ecclestone knows that the Prime Minister wants to speak with him."

A precise deadline for a solution has not been set, but Schmidt said that Hockenheim needs approximately a full year to prepare for a 2010 race.

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Source: GMM