The circuit at Zandvoort was first opened in 1948 as part of the wave of renewed interest in motorsport following the Second World War. Originally, the track was made up of a mixture of permanent track and public roads that made their way through the sand dunes of the Zandvoort resort town. The Dutch Automobile Racing Club then brought in 1927 Le Mans winner Sammy Davis to consult on the layout and the rest, as they say, is history.
The first Formula 1 Grand Prix was held in 1952. On that occasion, Alberto Ascari won the race from Pole Position and achieved the fastest lap of the race too. Giuseppe Farina finished in second place with Luigi Villoresi in third. A further thirty four Grand Prix have been held since then with this year’s thirty-fifth edition marking the end of an era as Formula 1 won’t be returning to race there for at least the near future.
F1 Academy
The all female racing series has competed here in every single season of its existence so far. Three races were held in 2023 with Hamda Al Qubaisi winning two of them - her lap record of 1:35.926 still standing in the series to this day. Carrie Schreiner won the other race held in that event while Marta Garcia, Lena Buhler and Nerea Marti made up the rest of the podium places for those races. Abbi Pulling and Doriane Pin took the honours of victory in 2024, closely followed on the podium by Maya Weug and Nerea Marti.
Last year saw Maya Weug then take Pole Position - which she converted into victory for Sunday’s Race. Alisha Palmowski and Doriane Pin finished behind her on the podium.
Home hero Nina Gademan, herself a wild card in the series in 2024, won Saturday’s race in style, bringing together a wonderful full circle moment in her own motorsport story. Lia Block finished in second place, claiming her maiden podium in the series with Weug in third.
Now full time driver Esmee Kosterman will be back competing at Zandvoort this year too, having followed in Gademan’s footsteps last year and becoming a Wild Card Driver for her home event. With Max Verstappen competing for Red Bull in Formula 1, Dutch fans will have three of their own to support across the two series when racing gets underway in late August.
Lewis Hamilton holds the lap record of 1:11.097 around the 2.6 mile circuit which he set back in 2021. The circuit itself is known for its nineteen degree banked corners at T3 and T14, providing a unique and memorable challenge for all drivers who race there. Held in August this year, the weather could be anything from beautiful blue skies to stormy clouds that threaten to make the race weekend a wash out - we’ve seen both in recent memory.
Last time out, F1 Academy went racing in Silverstone as part of the British Grand Prix weekend. Alisha Palmowski and Emma Felbermayr won the two races that weekend with the former leading the latter in the Championship heading out of the weekend and into Zandvoort by thirty points. Home hero Nina Gademan sits a further twenty-eight points back from Felbermayr in third with fifty Championship points to her name.