Holland’s leading motor racing circuit was a regular highlight of the Formula 1 World Championship until 1985. Venue of a street race in 1939, circuit manager John Hugenholtz used the communications roads adjacent to the North Sea coast that had been left by the retreating German army to create a new circuit after World War II. The combination of a fast final corner onto the long pits straight before the famous 180-degree Tarzan corner produced great racing with plenty of overtaking. Sand dunes act as natural grandstands around the circuit. Zandvoort struggled financially after losing the Dutch Grand Prix and it was taken over by the town council after falling into bankruptcy in 1988. Dutch noise pollution laws also led to alterations, including a manmade sand dune built between the town and a new, shorter circuit opened in 1989. The layout was extended ten years later, returning Zandvoort to F1 length while retaining the character of the original course. Sporadic talk of the GP returning was boosted by Max Verstappen’s success, so the circuit was modified with banked corners to hold the first Dutch GP for 35 years only in 2020. That race was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, but Verstappen has won the three races since it returned to the calendar in 2021 amid a sea of patriotic orange.
