The Zandvoort circuit is an unique racetrack in the present and has a very fascinating past. The circuit was literally built upon the rubble of World War II and is, and has always, remained beloved by pure racers. The circuit along side the sea experienced moments of glory but was often targeted by opposition and faced closure several times in the past. Each time, however, it rose again from the ashes. This page summarizes the development of the Zandvoort circuit form the past till nowadays.

The Zandvoort circuit originated in the forties of the past century. Mayor Henri van Alphen of Zandvoort saw a race circuit as the perfect tool to attract more tourism for Zandvoort. After first organizing a street race in Zandvoort in 1939, a plan was presented in the early 1940s for a permanent ‘racetrack’ in the shape of a ring. This ring should be build arround a also new planned recreational forest to the north of Zandvoort.

By now, World War II had broken out, but Van Alphen still managed to begin the construction of the racingcircuit during the war. The myth said that Van Alphen convinced the German occupiers that a ‘paradestrasse’ should rise near the sea.
Whether this story is true or not, the fact is that the German regime indirectly contributed to the construction of the circuit in World War II. Dutch citizens, forced by the German occupiers to work, performed the first labor for the racetrack until the end of 1942.
So after the war in 1945, the outlines of the southern part of the track had already been established.
The village of Zandvoort was in ruins after the war, but that did not stop Van Alphen from continuing the construction of the circuit. On the contrary, because the Mayor outsmarted the situation and saw chances to manage both in Zandvoort.

Van Alphen let all the debris from the village transported to the circuit, where it was used as foundation for the racetrack. Thus, construction of the track could continue while the village itself was cleared of the rubble caused by the Germans demolishing all buildings along the coastline.

The shape of the northern section of the circuit changed according to the orginal plan. A group of racing experts from the Netherlands and England, reviewed the layout of the track on behalf of Mayor Van Alphen. Following their advice, the Tarzan corner was created, which would run straight into a big dune within 400 meters after this corner. The simple solution was to bow the track allong side this dune. But Cas Hunze, a member of the Dutch Motorcycle accociation KNMV, suggested that the track should run over this dune instead. In this way, the second and third corner originated, resulting in the follwing climb to the top of this big dune. After the ‘Hunzerug’ the circuit dipped down and followed the natural slopes of the dunes going into a fast right and left resulting in another climb upon a big dune. On top of this dune the circuit dipped down again and made a big bow to the right. This is how the infamous, blind, and fast corner in the ‘Scheivlak’ was created. After this corner the track followed the natural slopes of the dunes again and got connected to the southern part of the racetrack. Ultimately, the Zandvoort circuit was officially opened on August 7, 1948, with the ‘Prize of Zandvoort’.

Zandvoort became immediately popular with true racers and attracted many people to the coastal town as the mayor envisioned. Not only participants and spectators came to the races but the circuit, lead by director Hugenholtz, was also an active tourist attraction until the late sixtees.
Until 1967, anyone could buy a ticket at the gate and drive onto the circuit with their own vehicle.

The beautiful and fast circuit soon became a classic in international motorsports. There were legendary Formula 1 races, such as in 1961, when all participants reached the finish without making a single pitstop. All the big names from the fifties and sixties, such as Fangio, Moss, Stewart, and Brabham, set their marks on the asphalt of Zandvoort. The Scottish Jim Clark was the most successful driver during this period, winning the Dutch Grand Prix four times, with the 1963 edition being particularly notable. In his Lotus 25, Clark completed the race with an average speed of 158 km/h, leaving all other cars one or more laps behind!

As the seventies approached, cars improved significantly and speeds, especially in fast corners, increased tremendously. In 1970, the first fatal racingaccident occurred during the F1 at Zandvoort when Piers Courage crashed near the fast ‘Bos in’ section and died. The municipality of Zandvoort, wich owned the track through the ‘Touring Zandvoort’ foundation, was never keen to invest much money into the complex. Therefore, Zandvoort was suddenly outpaced by the speed at which motorsport was developing. The track became to old fashioned with a lack of guardrails and a paddock wich was still largely unpaved and without electricity in 1971. As a result, the track was disqualified by the FIA for 1972.

The circuit would need to be modernized for 2.5 million guilders. The municipality of Zandvoort could, and partly did not want to, finance this and definitively pulled its hands away from the circuit.
The circuit seemed to be doomed for closure.
But fortunately the members of the NAV, a Dutch Motorsport association with members who were active in motorsports themselves, took action. The NAV did not want to lose the only permanent racingcircuit in the Netherlands.
They made an ambitious plan wich was eventually the lifeline for the Zandvoort circuit.
The NAV founded the CENAX, Circuit Exploitation NAV, and took over its operation from the municipality. The necessary funds were raised through share offerings, sponsorship from several large companies, and a government-backed loan. By 1973 the new owners managed to modernize the Zandvoort circuit. Within half a year the made Zandvoort a modern track according to the FIA standards of that time. The fast ‘Bos-in’ section was replaced by the ‘Panorama’-corner.

The renovation of the circuit eventually costs 3 million guilders instead of 2,5.
Over the upcomming years, this financial gap would be repeatedly attempted to be filled with the income from the upcoming year. The consensus in 1973 was that it would turn out well, as Zandvoort now had the most modern and safest circuit in Europe.
During that first Grand Prix of 1973 at the new Zandvoort, good vibes turned to bad ones when British driver Roger Williamson tragically lost his life. Everyone involved did what they could, but many issues arose that made it impossible to save Williamson. The desperation of his fellow co-driver David Purley, who tried to safe Williamson out of the buringcar, said it all.
The international motorsport scene, and Zandvoort, were still far away from achieving adequate safety.

Despite the real dangers, motorsports flourished in the mid seventies. The were a lot of participants and spectators with every motorcycle and car racing event hosted.
Zandvoort had some great F1 races in the seventies, with cult hero James Hunt winning twice.
The always-dedicaded Gilles Villeneuve surprised the spectators when he got a flattire and powered his Ferrari with just three wheels spectaculair around almost the entire circuit.
Zandvoort always provided spectacle, and the audience knew this also and found their way to the track.
In 1978, 80,000 spectators watched Mario Andretti narrowly win the Grand Prix a couple of tens ahead of his Lotus teammate Peterson.

However, after 1978, things gradually got worse for the circuit. A global economic crisis hit, leading to a decline in revenue, making it increasingly difficult for the circuit to fill the financial gaps from previous years. The municipality of Zandvoort preferred to be rid of the circuit, arguing it hindered a pleasant living environment. The circuit held up building-developments for new houses and general environmental concerns also were named for the first time in this period of time. Moreover, the circuit caused noise pollution, making Zandvoort the first circuit in the world to hold races with cars equiped with silencers in 1979.

The F1 entered the turbo era, and to reduce average speeds, in 1980 the Marlboro chicane was added to the Zandvoort circuit after the ‘Scheivlak’-corner. In the eighties, promoter Ecclestone increasingly professionalized Formula 1. Due to the stubborn stance of the government and the circuit management always struggling with finances, Formula 1 became too big for the Zandvoort circuit. Promoter Ecclestone referred to everything in Zandvoort as ‘a mess’. After still seeing no improvements Ecclestone was done with ’the Dutchies’ and the F1 left ‘old’ Zandvoort after 1985.

Without a Formula 1 Grand Prix, a circuitowner struggling with financial shortages, and an unpredictable government, it seemed the Zandvoort circuit was doomed to disappear agian by the mid eighties. However, the circuit managed to survive these years, but heavily curtailed by the end of this battle for survival. In the mid eighties, a bungalow park was planned on a part of the grounds where the circuit was located and the municipality of Zandvoort was very enthousiastic about it.
This meant that the southern part of the circuit would have to disappear and that the circuit in its current form could not stand any longer. But it also meant that something would come in return to the financially weak circuit owners from the sale of the southern part of the grounds for this new bungalow park.

In 1987, a plan was presented to move the circuit northward. However everybody involved was enthousiastic, the ‘accommodation plan Circuit Zandvoort’ never got off. The financial gaps from previous years were suddenly too big for the circuit owner CENAV to fill. The circuit went bankrupted in June 1987. A restart occurred, and the circuit managed to survive, but in a smaller and reduced form.

After the restart, the circuit was nearly shortened to just 1400 meters. There was a proposal to cut off the track at the Hugenholtz corner and connect it from there with the mainstraight through the so-called ‘Beerepoot’-street that had sometimes been used for truck races in the eighties.
However, the new circuit director Hans Ernst did everything he could and negotiated a route of 2.5 kilometers for the new circuit, the so called ‘interim circuit’.
In this way Zandvoort was not converted into a small club track but was able to still host some minor international classes in the upcomming nineties.

The new circuit director, Hans Ernst, took a different approach for the exploitation. The circuit had to be financially healthy to survive in the long run. In 1989, Ernst made it possible to extend the expiring leasehold contract between the municipality of Zandvoort and the circuit for a much longer period.
Ernst successfully extended this contract until 2013, ensuring a long-term stability and the possibility of financial and strategic growth.

The circuit and sponsor Phillip Morris came up with the ‘Marlboro Masters of F3’, with his first edition in Zandvoort in 1990. The Masters of F3 was just one single race in the summer wich allowed drivers from all F3 championships worldwide to participate. In the nineties the F3 was the last step before F1 for talented singleseater drivers. With the absence of a global championship, the ‘Masters’ became the race where emerging talent could truly compare themselves with competitors from other countries and continents. This unique race, complemented by national classes and demonstrations, always attracted huge crowds as Marlboro distributed free tickets at many locations in the Netherlands. Also the timing in summer was perfect, as F1 teams were then still looking for drivers for the upcoming season.
Winning the Masters of F3 nearly guaranteed a seat in Formula 1 for the following year.
In this way Zandvoort managed to still gaine international attention once a year, despite the absence of a Formula 1 Grand Prix.

Due to the success of the Masters of F3, the healthy growth of the circuit’s finances, and Jos Verstappen who gave Dutch Motorsports a positive impact with his consistent participation in F1, the ‘interim’ situation came to an end at the end of the decade.
The Zandvoort circuit would become a circuit with a respectable length again.
In 1999, the Zandvoort circuit was put into use in the shape that we still recognize today. After the ‘Scheivlak’, the treacherous ‘Masters’ bend emerged, which follwed in a right-left loop and after a short straight was connected to the ‘Hans Ernst’ corner. In this way the ‘Hans Ernst’ corner, alongside with the Tarzan, became a second deep brakingpoint and has been a second classic overtakingspot at the Zandvoort circuit since 1999.

With the new Zandvoort circuit in the new millennium, the racetrack had a strong foundation to truly grow further. Zandvoort in this time had four weekends which were granted for more noise, allowing to host more large international events. Alongside the Masters of F3, the popular DTM-series made Zandvoort a regular venue from the start of the new millenium, sometimes attracting around 60,000 spectators on raceday. The A1GP, a racingseries wich no longer exists and in which teams raced on behalf of countries for the ‘World Cup of Motorsport,’ also brought large crowds.
In 2012, the very first Historic Grand Prix was organized. A still very popular raceweekend that brings Zandvoort back to its roots with former F1-cars and other vehicles that made their fame in the dunes.

At the beginning of 2016, the circuit came under new ownership after 27 years. Hans Ernst, whose name has been permanently associated with the S-curve at Zandvoort since late 2013, was the major shareholder of the complex until then. Ernst sold his shares in that he would believed the new owners would continue to develop the circuit according to the same philosophy as his own. ‘Chapman Andretti Partners’ became the majority shareholder of the circuit, led by Menno de Jong and the ‘Dutch Prince’ Bernhard Jr.

The new owners indeed continued to think outside the box, but without taking reckless financial risks. However, due to the rise of Max Verstappen, serious consideration was given to bring back the Formula 1 Grand Prix. Discussions were held with the F1 rights holders, now owned by the American ‘Liberty Media,’ about a potential return to Zandvoort. With the ‘Jumbo racing days’, first held in 2017, Zandvoort pulled the same trick as Ernst did earlier with the Masters of F3. Almost 100,000 spectators, present due to free tickets, were thrilled by the demonstration laps of Max Verstappen and Red Bull F1. The images of that event, ultimately played a decisive role during negotiations for the return of F1.
After all, if such a large audience was already ecstatic over a few simple demolaps F1, what will the images become when there is a real F1 Grand Prix?
In May 2019, the big news was finally announced: Formula One would return to Zandvoort.

The circuit still needed to be adjusted to all Formula 1 standards. A larger run-up towards the Tarzan corner was desired to make it easier for the fast Formula 1 cars to overtake, but extending the straight was not possible due to the lack of space. The out-of-the-box solution came from modifying the final corner. The ‘Luyendyk’-corner would be banked and transformed into a corner like seen at the American Ovals. This new bankedcorner allowed the cars to accelerate much earlier, resulting in the same effect as there would be by extending the straight.

A similar solution was found for the ‘Hugenholtz’-corner. It was shifted slightly to the east to widen the passage between paddock 1 and paddock 2. The Hugenholtz was even made more spectacular banked then the last corner. The banking on the outside of Hugenholtz is much steeper than on the inside, presenting a new challenge and the feeling of a slingshot for the drivers when the exit the corner.

The pit lane exit would now be at the exit of the Tarzan corner, and the pit boxes were extended at the back. The ‘Hans Ernst’ corner was shaped slightly smoother. Some gravel traps on the circuit were adjusted, and escape roads were added to the outside of certain corners. Also work was done around the circuit to replace fences and to ensure that more grandstands could be built.
On March 7, 2020, the first race was held on the renovated circuit during the Final 4 ‘Zandvoort Reborn.’

The first Formula 1 GP was scheduled for 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted those plans.
The pandemic continued in 2021, and the F1 at Zandvoort almost did not happen, but against all odds, the Grand Prix was allowed to proceed, however with less spectators than hoped for.
But after all, Zandvoort once again hosted a Formula One Grand Prix after 36 remarkable years.
Despite critics before, concerning accessibility and the limited space arround the circuit, Zandvoort managed to set a benchmark with the ‘Dutch GP.’
The created Arena section, with grandstands on both sides of the S-curve, is typical of the Dutch GP. The atmosphere created, with DJ performances on a floating stage between the races, is unique.

Despite the success story of the Dutch GP, it was announced at the end of 2024 that Formula One would leave Zandvoort after 2026. This scenario has parallels to the departure in 1985.
Gradually, ticket sales for the Grand Prix declined, just past the peak of the Max Verstappen hype in the Netherlands, and without any government support, organizing Formula One is unsustainable.
The significant difference with the present however, is that the circuit management itself now has decided to stop hosting the F1 Grand Prix.
And this approach , for the first time carried out in the late eighties by Hans Ernst, now offers hope for the future of the Zandvoort circuit. With or without Formula 1.