It is anything but self-evident that Formula 1 will return to Zandvoort every year after 2025. There are so many countries interested in organizing a Grand Prix that the question is whether the seaside resort can compete with South Africa, for example. Until 2025 there is no danger for Zandvoort. It has been contractually agreed that the event will be held three more times on the circuit in the dunes.
“There are cities worldwide that are interested,” says Robert van Overdijk, director of the Dutch Grand Prix and Circuit Zandvoort. “As a result, it is not self-evident that Zandvoort will remain on the calendar every year after 2025. We are dealing with the market, which has grown enormously in the United States, for example.”
The FOM (Formula One Management, the organization that compiles the race calendar) has been spreading the races across several continents for some time now. The F1 circus is already visiting three cities in the United States this season (Austin, Las Vegas, Miami). Due to the potential for fans, it is expected that there will also be racing in Africa within the next few years.
Rotate
Van Overdijk: “If you think logically, it could be at the expense of Europe. But we all agree that the iconic races in Europe should continue. A decision has to be made, of course, but on the paddock have ideas about a rotation system. Of course we have ideas about that. It makes a lot of difference whether the Grand Prix Zandvoort is held once every two years or once every three years. direction the FOM wants to go, then we can think along creatively,” says Van Overdijk.
Bahrain
Van Overdijk is currently in Bahrain, where the Formula 1 season will start on Sunday. Once again, Van Overdijk received compliments for the way Zandvoort organized the Grand Prix in 2021 and last year. But it is no guarantee for the future. Van Overdijk: “We have to take into account the great wish of the FOM to organize races in several places in the world.”
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