About Zandvoort
Circuit Zandvoort is a motorsport race track located in the dunes north of Zandvoort, Netherlands, near the North Sea coast line. It returned to the Formula One calendar in 2021 after a 36-year absence, largely driven by the popularity of Dutch driver Max Verstappen. The track was originally designed by John Hugenholtz.
Zandvoort is an "old-school" track with gravel traps and barriers close to the asphalt, punishing errors instantly. The 2020 renovation introduced two unique banked corners, Turn 3 (Hugenholtzbocht) and the final Turn 14 (Arie Luyendykbocht), allowing cars to carry much higher speeds onto the straights and opening up different racing lines.
The circuit flows through the sand dunes, creating elevation changes and blind crests. It is narrow and twisty, often described as a "rollercoaster." The atmosphere during the Dutch Grand Prix is comparable to a football stadium, with plumes of orange smoke and non-stop music creating a party environment unlike any other.
Circuit Zandvoort is privately owned by CZAV (Circuit Zandvoort Beheer BV), a company controlled by Dutch entrepreneur Prince Bernhard van Oranje-Nassau van Vollenhoven, a cousin of King Willem-Alexander who purchased the venue from previous owners in 2016. The Dutch state contributes no direct funding to the annual Grand Prix, though the province of North Holland provides an infrastructure support package that includes upgraded rail service and mandatory public-transit-only visitor access. The current F1 hosting deal runs only to 2025 and its extension has been publicly complicated by environmental campaigners' challenges against the venue's proximity to the Natura 2000 protected dune ecosystem; the Council of State ruled in April 2024 that the race may continue subject to enhanced habitat restoration commitments funded by CZAV.