2023 Dutch Grand Prix

Return of the Dutch Grand Prix in 2021

After 36 years of absence, the Formula 1 is back in Zandvoort! On a racetrack that is considered by many drivers to be one of the most beautiful in the world, Formula 1 will be held in the first weekend of May 2021. An event you must be at!

Zandvoort is just 15 minutes from the city of Haarlem and 30 minutes from Amsterdam and is a major seaside resort in the Netherlands. 

The 2021 race will be the 31st Dutch Grand Prix at the track. Prior to the 1985 season, the race had been held 29 times there over the course of the last 33 seasons, as it was first held in the 1952 season. Heineken is set to serve as the title sponsor for this race when it returns to the schedule next year.

The Zandvoort race track dates back to the 1930s. On June 3 1939, an international competition for race cars was organized for the first time in Dutch history. This involved a course through the streets of Zandvoort. The event attracted a couple of thousand visitors. That event was the reason that the mayor back then decided that there should be a permanent circuit. The dunes in the north of Zandvoort were chosen as the right location.

The town has a long history of motor sport. In fact, street races were organized as of 1939 and the permanent race track was built in 1948, hosting the Dutch Grand Prix for decades. It has been the backdrop to legends – James Hunt, Jody Scheckter, Niki Lauda, Ayrton Senna and Mario Andretti are among the big names to have raced in Zandvoort.

The circuit is praised for the rolling track through the Zandvoort dunes. The Tarzan bend immediately after the start, the sharp Hugenholtz bend, the ‘blind’ Scheivlak and the fast Arie Luyendyk bend: bends that will demand the utmost from the drivers, that will make overtaking extremely difficult, but that guarantee a magnificent Formula 1 adventure.

Zandvoort is no unknown territory for a number of current Formula 1 drivers. Max Verstappen has been a regular guest at the Jumbo Racing Days for years with Red Bull Racing, but reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton also has good memories of Zandvoort. He won Formula 3 in 2005: “It was really cool to race there. But overtaking was difficult.” Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas is also happy to return: “It is a very beautiful circuit. The track has nice long curves and really fast curves. And even when we were there with the Formula 3, there were a lot of fans along the track. I would gladly there return. “

Circuit Zandvoort celebrated their 60th birthday in 2008. After the opening in 1948, the circuit was the home of multiple Formula 1 Grand Prix races. A worthy follower of the race event was found in the Marlboro Masters. A quick look back at the circuits’ history.

On 7 August 1948, the first race was held on the new permanent Zandvoort circuit. The race didn’t count for the championships but it did attract a lot of Formula 1 drivers to Zandvoort. The winner was Prince Bira of Siam. One year later, the event was organized under the name ‘‘Grote prijs van Zandvoort’’. Ferrari won this race with driver Luigi Villoresi.

In the fifties the name of the Formula 1 race is changed to ‘‘de Grote prijs van Nederland’’. In 1952, Zandvoort became an official part of the World Championships. It was an important step in auto racing history because Zandvoort was part of calendar that only existed out of eight races. Louis Rosier, Alberto Ascari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss, and Joachim Bonnier were able to look back on their races with a good feeling because they all won at least one race.

The sixties were the combativeness of the famous drivers Graham Hill, Jim Clark, and Jackie Stewart. They all won at least one of the races. Wolfgang von Trips and Jack Brabham also triumphed at the circuit of Zandvoort.

In the seventies the circuit experienced a underwhelming period. In 1970 ‘‘ de Grote prijs van Nederland’’ was overshadowed due to the deadly accident of Piers Courage. In the back of the circuit, close to the east-tunnel, the British racing driver ran of the race track and died on the scene. The race in 1971 was won by Jacky Ickx. One year later the security measurements at the circuit weren’t up to standard and the Formula 1 Grand Prix decided not to go to Zandvoort.

In 1973 an extra turn was added to the circuit, the Panorama turn. Other security requirements were covered and because of that de Grote Prijs van Nederland was able to come back for a race on the 29th of June. There was almost no time to celebrate because during the 8th round of the race, Roger Williamson ran off the track. His car immediately caught fire and there were not enough extinguishing methods available. Racing driver David Purley stopped by the accident to help, but it wasn’t enough. The accident was fatal. The race was eventually won by Jacky Stewart. After some adjustments to the fire extinguishing material, the Formula 1 came back to Zandvoort in 1974. That year, Niki Lauda won the race. Other victories were by James Hunt, Mario Andretti, Alan Jones, and once again Lauda. 

Nelson Piquet won the race in 1980. In the following years the victories went to Alain Prost (twice), Didier Pironi, and René Amoux. The last Formula 1 Grand Prix in the Netherlands was held on 25 August 1985. At the start were Twenty-six Formula 1 Cars, Niki Lauda eventually won the race. This is at the same time, Lauda’s last Formula 1 win. Prost comes in on the second place and the talented Ayrton Senna finishes third.

soon…

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