Dutch Grand Prix Returns To F1 With Heineken As Title Sponsor

The Dutch Grand Prix returns to the FIA Formula 1 World Championship from 2020, it was announced today.

An agreement has been signed between Formula 1 and Dutch Grand Prix – a partnership formed by SportVibes, TIG Sports and the Circuit Zandvoort – and will run for at least three years.

Heineken, one of the longstanding Global Partners of Formula 1, will be the Title Sponsor of the event.

Reuters reports:

F1 is set to make the most of Max Verstappen’s popularity with the return of the Dutch event at Zandvoort after an absence of 35 years.

Red Bull driver Verstappen, 21, is the most successful Dutch driver ever as well as Formula One’s youngest race winner and draws many thousands of orange-shirted fans to grands prix around Europe.

He is third overall in the championship after finishing third at the Circuit de Catalunya with plenty of supporters in attendance.

“I think a Dutch Grand Prix, with the popularity of Verstappen, is going to be immense. I think that’s positive for Formula One,” Red Bull boss Christian Horner told reporters.

Zandvoort last hosted a Grand Prix in 1985 after making its first appearance on the calendar in 1952.

The race deal is the second, after Vietnam, negotiated by U.S.-based Liberty Media since taking over the sport in 2017 and ousting former commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

The French Grand Prix at the southern Le Castellet circuit returned in 2018 after a 10-year absence but that deal was done by Ecclestone. Vietnam is due to make its debut next year with a street race in Hanoi.

Zandvoort, on the North Sea coast, looks likely to have an early May slot when the 2020 calendar is published later in the year and could replace Spain as the start of the traditional European season.

“It’s a really narrow track. I’ve been there only once but it’s really challenging on the driving side. So, I think to put some F1 cars there will be pretty cool and exciting,” said Verstappen’s French team mate Pierre Gasly.

Williams driver George Russell said Zandvoort was a favourite.

“I just truly hope we don’t get rid of the gravel runoffs in the two high-speed corners because that’s what makes the circuit so daunting and so incredible to drive,” said the Briton, last year’s Formula Two champion.

The future of Spain’s race remains uncertain, with the Circuit de Catalunya out of contract at the end of this year.