REPORTOf course this weekend is all about Max Verstappen’s race in Zandvoort. But there’s another race going on: it’s all about a poncho. About the profits of smart traders and the loss of umbrellas, while the track is blown dry because of the rain that sometimes pours down relentlessly on the track. ‘Here we do not ask for the main prize, it must remain fun’
When 12-year-old Skylar shouted through the Van Speijkstraat in Zandvoort: ‘Ponchos for sale’, it sounded like cursing from one mouth of a couple who walked by on their way to the circuit. No wonder, because they wore those orange things that you can buy near the station for 20 euros. Skylar’s prize? 3 Euro. Lower, yes, but also a nice trade, which Skylar can drive with his brother Ace (15) thanks to his mother Bibi. She stocked up on ponchos with foresight, and fills in with her husband for sales when the children can’t.
“Last year we just celebrated with the rest of the street,” says Bibi. Because it’s a party in Zandvoort, especially here, in the street where Formula 1 is experienced together. But after the children heard about the monster profits from neighbors – it would sometimes be thousands of euros, but no one really openly says what is being earned now – Skylar and Ace also wanted to try this year if they could bring in something.
This brings an old tradition back to life since the arrival of Formula 1. Aaron’s father (almost 11), who also lives in Van Speijkstraat, sold cans of drinks to cars that were stuck in traffic here as a child. “Back then you were still allowed to drive here,” he says. Now Aaron – hot coffee for a euro – makes a profit by selling to the stream of pedestrians. “The coffee goes extra fast because of the rain.”
But there is more entrepreneurial spirit in the area: the garden has been converted into a guarded bicycle shed. The cargo bike that functions as a srv car. And cans do not stay for long, but are taken for the deposit. Still: that golden trade in ponchos makes even the garbage collectors wonder whether they shouldn’t jump in quickly. Because it is clear: it doesn’t really matter how much you ask for it, now that the public shelters under stands because of the rain, the race track has to be blown dry because of slipperiness, umbrellas at the entrance are taken away because they obstruct the view of the stands and the ponchos of 20 euros are already sold out.
So much money
Also at the stand with official Max merchandise. ‘Who will pay for that, who has so much money’ sounds an appropriate song from the speakers, while the father of a Swiss family is already trying to open his wallet to buy rainwear. Remarkably enough, his son Gianin Schenk is wrapped in a plastic raincoat. “It’s such a day”, the father sighs. Or weekend actually. He and his wife paid 2000 Swiss Francs to enjoy Max Verstappen here all weekend. First there was the flight that was canceled, so they started their own course. It was ten long hours by car to the Netherlands, through various traffic jams. Then it turned out that their car had been broken into last night. And now there are two ponchos in the hotel, and Gianin (17) is beaming from under his hood.
And his parents laugh with him. That makes it clear: whoever goes to Formula 1 should not look with the eyes of an accountant. Gianin: ,,It’s about the speed, the technique, the sound of the engines.” So the fun in the sport, and that that sport costs a lot, every enthusiast knows, just like every racer. “You shouldn’t pay attention to that once you’re here,” says the father.
Those who want to hook up last minute can do so on Saturday for 177 euros, the cheapest ticket that can be found on the internet. Anyone who wants to be dressed appropriately (just like Gianin): a jacket with long sleeves from the official Max Verstappen merchandise line is available for 139.95 euros. Those who want to be ‘cheap’ can aim for a cap. The cheapest, orange, without that one name on it, is 39.95 euros.
Nalva Peqeno has already forgotten those amounts as soon as she swiped her debit card over the device. “I have no idea what I just paid.” But this weekend it’s not about money either, it’s about Max. ,,I am in love with him. To his discipline, his will to achieve something. I’m originally from Brazil, where I watched driver Ayrton Senna. Thanks to Max Verstappen, I started following racing here in the Netherlands again.”
Because of fans like them, the children in the Van Speijkstraat dream about the purchases they will soon make. Skylar wants a new monitor, and oh yes, he still has to pay off his new bike to his parents first. Oh, and then there’s that radio-controlled plane. Parents temper expectations. They didn’t earn that much from those ponchos. “We could have asked for more than 3 euros, but it must remain fun.” A little further on, local residents seem to want to encourage passing racing enthusiasts with the music that blares through the street. ‘I don’t give a shit about my money, I see Max’s best moments.’
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