Formula 1 returns from its summer break for a final blast around the Zandvoort dunes – and Max Verstappen’s home race has one final twist. The Dutch Grand Prix hosts its first Sprint before saying farewell to the F1 calendar. Here’s what to expect…
01
Memorable Moments
Max celebrates after winning at Zandvoort in 2021
© Getty
Orange smoke envelopes the podium as Max celebrates in 2021
© Getty
The Orange Army arrive in numbers at Zandvoort
© Getty
Max admires his trophy after winning the Dutch Grand Prix in 2022
© Getty
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What makes Zandvoort unique
Let’s start with the obvious – it’s beside the sea. Now that’s true of a couple of places on the calendar – Jeddah, Monaco, bits of Abu Dhabi – but Zandvoort is very different. Constructed between the town of Zandvoort and the sea itself and opened in 1948, the track is right in the middle of the dunes. That gives it a unique (slightly salty) flavour. It’s also on the edge of the North Sea. There are few balmy afternoons here. It’s often wild, windy and wet. Part seaside attraction and part sandy temple of speed, Zandvoort an old-school venue with plenty of heritage, a unique undulating layout, but also some very cool modern appointments.
That’s the track bit. Now, what about the crowd? This is Max Verstappen’s homeland and base camp for the four-time champion’s fans. That means the grandstands are a sea of orange from Thursday morning all the way through to Sunday afternoon and the sounds of ‘Super Max!’ echo from one corner to the next on constant repeat. The fervour is cranked to the maximum. It’s slightly unhinged, but it is completely awesome to behold.
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Circuit characteristics
Zandvoort may be compact, but there’s a lot packed into those 4.259 km. There are 14 corners – 10 right-handers and four left-handers – and two of them are seriously banked. Hugenholtzbocht, Turn 3, is tilted by around 19 degrees, while the final corner, Arie Luyendijkbocht, is banked at around 18 degrees.
It means the drivers can carry some pretty serious speed through the corners, with Hugenholtzbocht in particular giving you that roller-coaster feeling from behind the wheel.
The final corner is just as important. Get it right and you can carry plenty of speed onto the long main straight. Get it wrong and you’ll be giving away time all the way down to Turn 1 and opening yourself up to being overtaken at Turn 1, Tarzanbocht – but more on that in a moment.
In terms of set-up, Zandvoort’s flowing, twisty layout demands plenty of downforce. There are lots of long, fast corners where you need the car to stick, but there’s always a compromise to be found between aerodynamic grip and straight-line speed.
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Key overtaking zones
It is tight and narrow, making overtaking opportunities more difficult, so Qualifying pace and race strategy come more into focus.
As we’ve mentioned, the only real, gilt-edged opportunity comes at Turn 1 Tarzanbocht, a tight right-hand hairpin at the end of the main straight. Get a better exit than your rival out of the banked final turn and you can either steam past on the pit straight or set up a move under braking into Tarzan. It’s taken at a little over 100 km/h and in third gear.
Is there anywhere else? Well, the idea behind the banked Hugenholtzbocht was to provide multiple lines and overtaking opportunities but most of the time drivers cling to the higher line on the banking. It is possible to make a move low down but it’s tough to make it stick.
Want an even riskier proposition? Drivers have been known to make a move into the Turn 11/12 chicane, but it requires a rival to be a bit wide on entry and to have nerves of steel.
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Strategy watch
Last year, Pirelli went a step softer in terms of compounds with the C2 as Hard, the C3 as Medium and the C4 as Soft, whereas in 2024 the available compounds were C1, C2 and C3. The step to a softer allocation was designed to provoke strategic variation and was accompanied by a change to the pit-lane speed limit from 60 to 80 km/h (and thus less time lost in the pit lane) but ahead of the race it still looked like a one-stop was the quickest route to the flag.
A bunch of stoppages and restarts put paid to that and, in the end, Max finished in P2 starting on new Softs before moving to Mediums on lap 23 and then fitting a set of used Softs for his final stint, starting on lap 53 of the 72.
The same C2-C4 compound spread has been chosen for this year, but it remains to be seen how these versions behave on F1’s new cars. If behaviour is similar and we have a clean race on Sunday then a one-stop could be on the cards but we’ll only get a better indication of what’s likely on Friday afternoon.
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What else should fans look out for?
Did we mention it’s a Sprint weekend? For the final event of its current run on the calendar, Zandvoort is getting the season’s fifth Sprint – and that should make life very interesting. It’s the second-shortest track on the calendar so there’s never any real field spread, it’s fast and flowing and the race lap time is bit over 1min 12 seconds, so it will be fast, close and potentially action-packed.
The other thing to look out for is the weather. Rain can play a decisive part in how the race plays out – with the 2023 Grand Prix being the poster child for wet and wild Zandvoort outings. Showers are forecast through the weekend and although Sunday is currently predicted to be dry, things can change rapidly. `
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Recent Race Results
Circuit Zandvoort
Driver
Grid
Race
2021
Max Verstappen
1
1
Sergio Pérez
16
8
2022
Max Verstappen
1
1
Sergio Pérez
5
5
2023
Max Verstappen
1
1
Sergio Pérez
7
4
2024
Max Verstappen
2
2
Sergio Pérez
5
6
2025
Max Verstappen
3
2
Yuki Tsunoda
12
9