Dutch Grand Prix

Carved from dunes once occupied by wartime forces, Zandvoort was reclaimed by speed in the summer of 1948.

Circuit Zandvoort opened on 7 August 1948, built on land that had been used by the German occupying forces during the Second World War. The track wound through the coastal dunes near the seaside resort town of Zandvoort, just west of Haarlem. Its first race, the Prijs van Zandvoort, drew large crowds and established the venue as the home of Dutch motorsport. The natural elevation changes and fast, sweeping corners gave the circuit a character that set it apart from the flat landscapes typical of the Netherlands.

Ascari swept pole, fastest lap, and victory at Zandvoort's first championship race. Ferrari did not do things by halves.

After hosting non-championship Formula 1 races in 1950 and 1951, Zandvoort earned its place on the official World Championship calendar in 1952. Alberto Ascari dominated the inaugural championship race on 17 August, taking pole position, the fastest lap, and victory for Ferrari in wet conditions. It was the beginning of a long and storied relationship between the circuit and the pinnacle of motorsport, with the Dutch Grand Prix becoming a near-permanent fixture on the calendar for the next three decades.

Four wins at Zandvoort. Clark did not merely race here; he owned the place.

No driver is more closely associated with the Dutch Grand Prix than Jim Clark. The quiet Scotsman won four times at Zandvoort, in 1963, 1964, 1965, and 1967, each victory underlining his mastery of a circuit that demanded precision and bravery in equal measure. Clark's ability to thread his Lotus through the fast, blind corners of the dunes made him a favourite with the Dutch crowds. His record of four wins at the circuit stood for decades and remains one of the defining achievements of his tragically short career.

One driver stopped to save his peer; the marshals could not.

The 1973 Dutch Grand Prix was overshadowed by the death of Roger Williamson, whose car overturned and caught fire on the eighth lap. Fellow driver David Purley stopped and desperately tried to rescue Williamson, but marshals were unable to provide adequate assistance. The tragedy, captured on television, became one of the most harrowing moments in F1 history and intensified calls for improved circuit safety standards. Zandvoort would undergo significant modifications in the years that followed, but the incident left a permanent mark on the circuit's story.

Lauda's 25th and final win doubled as Zandvoort's last grand prix for 36 years; one afternoon closed two chapters at once.

Niki Lauda won the 1985 Dutch Grand Prix on 25 August, the last of his 25 career victories and, as it turned out, the last Formula 1 race at Zandvoort for over three decades. Rising costs, tightening safety regulations, and the circuit's inability to meet modern F1 infrastructure demands meant the race was dropped from the calendar. The circuit continued to host lower-category racing, but the dunes fell quiet on grand prix weekends. For 36 years, the Dutch Grand Prix existed only in memory.

Zandvoort earned its place on the modern calendar by doing something no contemporary circuit had attempted: banking two of its corners.

In May 2019, Formula 1 confirmed that the Dutch Grand Prix would return to the calendar in 2020, driven in large part by the global popularity of Max Verstappen. The circuit required a complete overhaul to meet modern F1 standards, including the addition of two banked corners, a first for a contemporary grand prix circuit. The 2020 race was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the anticipation only grew. Zandvoort's transformation from a beloved relic into a cutting-edge venue was one of the most ambitious circuit projects in recent F1 history.

Verstappen led every single lap at Zandvoort; 70,000 fans in orange never needed to hold their breath.

On 5 September 2021, Formula 1 returned to Zandvoort after a 36-year absence, and Max Verstappen delivered exactly what 70,000 orange-clad fans had come to see. He took pole position, led every lap, and won the race to retake the championship lead from Lewis Hamilton. The atmosphere was unlike anything else on the calendar: a wall of orange smoke, deafening noise, and a sense of occasion that justified every penny of the circuit's reconstruction. The Dutch Grand Prix was back, and it felt as though it had never been away.

Norris finished more than 22 seconds clear of Verstappen, ending three straight home wins for the Dutchman in a single afternoon.

After three consecutive Verstappen victories at his home race (2021, 2022, 2023), the 2024 Dutch Grand Prix produced a different winner. Lando Norris took a dominant victory for McLaren on 25 August, finishing over 22 seconds ahead of Verstappen and signalling a genuine shift in the competitive order. The result proved that Zandvoort could produce compelling racing even without a home victory, and the Orange Army, to their credit, stayed to applaud a worthy winner. The race confirmed the Dutch Grand Prix's status as one of the highlights of the modern F1 season.