The Dutch Grand Prix returns to Zandvoort from 2020

What was just a distant rumor several months ago has turned into a great success for the Netherlands. The country of the family Verstappen will find its place in the calendar of the Formula 1 from the 2020 season, as announced by the bosses of the Zandvoort circuit this Tuesday, May 14. 

Zandvoort. We're coming.

The #DutchGP is back

See you in 2020 #F1 pic.twitter.com/uUfauZ79Em

- Formula 1 (@ F1) 14th May 2019

It's a return to basics for F1, which had set down its suitcases between the dunes on the shores of the North Sea 30 times between 1952 and 1985. No official date has been revealed, but Chase Carey has dropped a period « pre-Monaco, around the beginning of May 2020. »

 “Since our arrival in F1 (in 2016), we expressed our desire to race in new lands, while respecting historical roots sport in Europe, continues the F1 boss. Next year, we will have a new circuit in Vietnam while we will return to Zandvoort after an absence of 35 years”

The arrival of Max Verstappen in the discipline in 2015 revived interest in motorsport in the Netherlands; since 2018, the Max Verstappen Days have attracted around a hundred thousand spectators to Zandvoort, with the World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) races and F1 demos. 

Zandvoort therefore won its battle for F1 against another famous Dutch track: Assen. Nicknamed “the Mecca of MotoGP » Assen received the support of the late Charlie Whiting in mid-2018. Development work had been mentioned to adapt the track, supported by the arrival of a foreign investor ready to cover the fees. 

For its part, Zandvoort approached Formula One Management (FOM) by signing a letter of intent on December 13, 2018 and then hoped to obtain public subsidies.

Several drivers from the 2019 starting grid raced on the North Holland side, not with F1 cars, but in Formula 3 as part of the late European Championship and F3 Masters. “Zandvoort is probably one of my five favorite circuits, admitted last week George Russell, resident of Williams. 

I think that it's a truly incredible circuit, it has so much character. Of course, safety is extremely important in Formula 1, but I really hope they don't remove the Zandvoort gravel traps in the two high-speed corners. »

This announcement does not imply the ousting of the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona. Spanish fans, who have the privilege of hosting one of the first European events on the calendar at the start of every May since 1991, therefore remain hopeful.