(Motorsport-Total.com) – After Formula 1 said goodbye to Zandvoort at the end of 1985, the topic seemed to be history. The race track fell into disrepair, Zandvoort gradually disappeared from the radar, and the pinnacle of motorsport seemed to have outgrown the small coastal town.
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What remained were nostalgic memories of watching Formula 1 cars in the dunes – and even hearing them back then!
For a long time, Zandvoort was synonymous with faded glory, but on May 14, 2019, the impossible suddenly proved possible: Zandvoort – or “Sandervoort,” as Chase Carey repeatedly called it during our interview at the time – celebrated a surprising return to the Formula 1 calendar.
Another visit to the track followed in 2020, this time for the official opening of the redesigned course with its two steep corners by Max Verstappen, Jos Verstappen, and Arie Luyendyk, after whom the last corner is named.
Later that year, the supreme moment was supposed to follow: the return of the Dutch Grand Prix. But as we all know, the Corona pandemic put a stop to that plan.
A little more than a year later, it finally happened, and immediately the most memorable edition to date was created. One of the first major sporting events in the country – albeit still under COVID restrictions – the F1 circus back in the dunes, and all during one of the most iconic title fights in F1 history: everything fit together.
Zandvoort shone when it came to the supporting program off the track – even though Formula 2 and Formula 3 were missing for several years, as in this season. In many other areas, the organizer raised the bar. This applies, for example, to sustainability, the mobility concept, and the entertainment offer.
What makes Zandvoort so strong
Robert van Overdijk, CEO of Circuit Zandvoort, revealed that Formula One Management often used the Dutch GP as a showcase example in regular meetings with all promoters. In fact, the mentioned factors went hand in hand.
When the return of the Grand Prix was announced, many feared traffic chaos – a “Traffic Paradise,” as Yuki Tsunoda would call it – since Zandvoort only has two access roads. This was cleverly countered by fans mostly arriving by bike or train, while the entertainment program also played its role.
If all spectators left immediately after the waving of the checkered flag at the same time, there would inevitably be problems. However, by organizing various concerts, fans leave the track in stages. In this way, Zandvoort has managed to turn a weakness into a unique selling point of the event.
All this is combined with an old-school course. Yes, there is entertainment – perhaps even too much for some – but unlike some other races on the calendar, it is still a traditional track that drivers love – especially when they push to the limit on a qualifying lap.
Party impressions of the Netherlands GP
The tone was set right at the 2021 premiere. The organizers pulled out all the stops at the starting grid. So much so that Super Max felt like it was blasting from the speakers for the 50th time that day after the national anthem was played, just as all drivers (including Max Verstappen) tried to get into the right tunnel vision before the start.
The pressure on Verstappen’s shoulders was immense, not least because the entire audience had come just for this one man and overtaking with the 2021 car generations was extremely difficult. Everything depended on the start, but the Red Bull driver withstood the pressure, made the party in the dunes perfect, and gave the organizers their dream winner.
When Christian Horner left the track on Sunday evening, he summed up the Dutch GP aptly: “I feel like I’ve been in a nightclub non-stop for four days.” And that is exactly what Zandvoort has been in recent years: not just a race, but a festival – a motorsport festival, whether purists like it or not.
Why don’t the organizers want to continue?
Given this success, Formula One Management was certainly interested in continuing with Zandvoort, which naturally raises the question of why the event is still being discontinued after this year.
The answer is mainly financial. Zandvoort is one of the few races on the Formula 1 calendar without government support and therefore has to stand on its own feet. This is achieved thanks to several major sponsors (referred to by the organizers as Founding Partners) and by selling out the event every day.
This model has worked well in recent years, but the organizers want to preempt the point at which interest wanes.
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One of the concerns from the organization’s perspective was naturally a possible retirement of Verstappen, even though his contract extension until the end of 2030 has eased this worry.
The contract durations of the current Formula 1 tracks
Nevertheless, the risk of oversaturation remains – whether because spectators feel they have experienced the event often enough or because interest in the Netherlands declines due to the current regulations. To avoid financial risks, the organizers want to preempt this moment themselves.
Furthermore, Van Overdijk has repeatedly explained why a rotation system for the Dutch GP would be difficult. Keeping the entire organization intact during the interim race-free year is costly; however, dismantling the entire operation only to rebuild it for a race year again is equally complex.
This means that from the organizers’ point of view, a rotation system is not the preferred scenario.
Will Formula 1 ever return to the Netherlands?
The final question is, of course, whether the Formula 1 book in the Netherlands closes forever after 2026 or whether there could still be a door for another edition in the future.
Zandvoort has already signaled that it would be ready should a race elsewhere on the calendar be canceled in the coming years – for example, due to unrest in the Middle East. This is how Imola has also come back into discussion for a potential race at the end of this year.
However, Van Overdijk immediately added that Zandvoort might not be the most logical option in this regard. The setup for a Grand Prix takes six weeks, while other race tracks have more permanent facilities, such as grandstands, than Zandvoort.
So there are complications, although organizing a race in this way would be financially much more attractive. The conditions, including the entry fee, would be completely different in such a scenario, which might make the numbers work out.
Zandvoort would not be the most likely option in this case, and there are race tracks in Europe that can react faster, but the scenario cannot be completely ruled out.
Finally, there are the ambitions of the other race track in the Netherlands: the TT Circuit Assen. However, this currently also appears to be a very vague hope and, as things stand, extremely unlikely.
The promoter LDP International still refuses to give up the dream of bringing Formula 1 to the track one day, although the TT Circuit recently stated through its director Mark van Aalderen that it will not make the modifications required for a Grade 1 license.
The race track, which welcomes MotoGP every year, contacted Formula One Management itself and was told that the chances for the coming years are practically zero. As a result, it decided not to carry out the modifications required for Formula 1 – the release of this news was an unpleasant surprise for the promoter.
“What sense does that make? In any case, we do not want to give up too early and are always open if an opportunity arises,” said Lee van Dam from promoter LDP International to Autosport, a sister platform of Motorsport-Total.com in the Motorsport Network, while also seeing potential in a possible rotation with Hockenheim.
The reality, however, is that a return of the German Grand Prix is quite possible, while another edition of the Dutch Grand Prix remains a vague hope.
That does not detract from Zandvoort’s legacy: an old-school race track that, according to Formula One Management, has raised the bar in several areas and can look back on memorable editions.
And so only one last lap remains of what Horner so aptly described: Formula 1 action in a nightclub.
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