Formula 1 returns to Zandvoort this weekend after the summer break for another chapter in the history of the Dutch Grand Prix, with the event carrying particular significance in 2026. The Dutch circuit is set to leave the championship after this season, meaning the passionate home crowd will no longer have its race on the calendar from the next campaign onwards.
Across the decades, Zandvoort has produced some of Formula 1’s most memorable stories. The circuit hosted the Dutch Grand Prix from the early years of the World Championship before disappearing after 1985 and eventually returning in 2021. Along the way, it has witnessed maiden victories, final career wins, championship celebrations, dramatic accidents and extraordinary moments involving some of the sport’s greatest names.
The Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort has therefore built a history stretching across very different generations of Formula 1. With the 2026 race confirmed as Zandvoort’s final edition under the current arrangement, this is an appropriate moment to revisit the races and milestones that made the Dutch venue so distinctive.
1950s: Italian success and Ferrari’s early dominance at Zandvoort
The first Dutch Grand Prix counting towards the Formula 1 World Championship was held in 1952, and Italian drivers immediately dominated proceedings. Ferrari’s Alberto Ascari won the race while also completing a Grand Chelem, finishing ahead of team-mates Giuseppe Farina and Luigi Villoresi to secure an all-Italian podium for the Scuderia.
Ascari repeated his victory one year later, when Italian drivers again featured prominently on the podium. Luigi Villoresi finished behind him, while Felice Bonetti, driving a Maserati, shared third place with Argentina’s Juan Manuel Gonzalez.
The decade also featured an important constructor milestone. Porsche made its debut as a Formula 1 team and constructor at Zandvoort in 1958. A year later, Jo Bonnier converted the first and only pole position of his career into his maiden Grand Prix victory, which was also BRM’s first Formula 1 win.
1960s: maiden victories and historic Formula 1 milestones
Zandvoort continued to provide career-defining moments in the following decade. Graham Hill achieved his first Formula 1 podium there in 1960, before taking his maiden victory at the same circuit in 1962. The 1960 race also marked the first Formula 1 appearance of Jim Clark, another driver who would go on to become one of the championship’s defining figures.
The 1961 Dutch Grand Prix entered the history books for another reason. Wolfgang von Trips claimed his first career victory, while the race became the first Formula 1 World Championship Grand Prix in which every car that started also reached the finish, without a single retirement.
Jim Clark later added another important milestone at Zandvoort in 1967, taking his first victory and helping the Ford-Cosworth engine achieve its first Formula 1 success. One year later, Jackie Stewart was at the centre of another landmark moment when he delivered Matra’s first Grand Prix victory.
1970s: tragedy, James Hunt milestones and Gilles Villeneuve’s legendary lap
The new decade began with one of Zandvoort’s darkest moments. Clay Regazzoni made his Formula 1 debut at the 1970 Dutch Grand Prix, but the occasion was overshadowed by the death of Piers Courage. The British driver lost his life following a violent impact with an embankment and the subsequent fire, although the race was not stopped.
James Hunt later created some of his own most important career memories in the Netherlands. In 1973, during a weekend Ferrari did not contest after Enzo Ferrari decided to skip the Grand Prix because of the poor performance of the 312 B3, Hunt earned his first Formula 1 podium.
Two years later, Hunt went one step further by claiming his maiden victory, which also became Hesketh’s first Formula 1 success. Niki Lauda finished second and, in doing so, brought Ferrari to the milestone of 200 Formula 1 podium finishes.
That weekend also featured an extraordinary incident involving Ferrari sporting director Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, who suffered multiple fractures after being struck by Ronnie Peterson in the pit lane.
Peterson himself would later play a part in another notable Zandvoort race. In 1978, the Lotus driver claimed the final podium of his career by finishing behind team-mate Mario Andretti. The victory was Andretti’s 12th and last in Formula 1 and helped Lotus secure its seventh and final Constructors’ Championship.
Yet perhaps no Zandvoort image from the 1970s remains as famous as Gilles Villeneuve’s extraordinary effort in 1979. The Ferrari driver became involved in a spectacular fight for the lead with Alan Jones and initially produced an outstanding overtaking move on the Australian at Tarzan corner.
Jones later increased the pressure and Villeneuve spun, damaging the left-rear wheel. The Canadian reversed the Ferrari in an attempt to continue towards the pits for fresh tyres and then completed almost an entire lap with the car effectively running on three wheels.
The effort caused substantial additional damage and ultimately forced Villeneuve to retire, but it became one of the enduring images of his fearless career. The extraordinary sequence remains one of Gilles Villeneuve’s most famous Formula 1 moments at Zandvoort.
1980s: final victories before Formula 1 left Zandvoort
Gilles Villeneuve tragically lost his life during qualifying for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix, the race immediately following the controversial Imola weekend in which tensions had erupted with Ferrari team-mate Didier Pironi. The Frenchman went on to claim his third and final Formula 1 victory at Zandvoort that same year, before suffering the devastating accident at Hockenheim that effectively ended his racing career.
Another French Ferrari driver celebrated a career milestone at the Dutch Grand Prix one year later. René Arnoux recorded his final Formula 1 victory at Zandvoort in 1983, while the same race also produced John Watson’s final podium finish.
McLaren then had reason to celebrate in 1984. Helped in particular by Niki Lauda’s second-place finish, the British team returned to the top of the Constructors’ Championship for the second time, ending a ten-year wait.
Lauda returned to Zandvoort in 1985 and secured the final victory of his illustrious Formula 1 career, also claiming his third world championship. That weekend appeared to bring the curtain down on the Dutch Grand Prix, which subsequently disappeared from the Formula 1 schedule for more than three decades.
Max Verstappen brings Formula 1 back to Zandvoort
The absence finally ended in 2021, when Formula 1 returned to the Dutch dunes amid enormous support for Max Verstappen. The Dutch driver delivered exactly what the home crowd wanted, beginning a run of three consecutive victories at Zandvoort.
The return transformed the circuit into one of the championship’s most visually distinctive weekends, with grandstands dominated by orange as supporters gathered to watch Verstappen compete on home soil. That modern chapter now approaches its conclusion as the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix weekend brings Formula 1 back from the summer break.
Should Max Verstappen win the final scheduled edition this weekend, he would move to four Zandvoort victories and equal Jim Clark in the circuit’s list of most successful drivers.
For Ferrari, Zandvoort also represents a circuit with a particularly rich heritage, stretching from Alberto Ascari’s early victories to the unforgettable determination of Gilles Villeneuve. The Scuderia’s wider record at the venue can be explored through the Ferrari statistics and historical figures from Zandvoort.
Zandvoort prepares to say goodbye to Formula 1
The end of the Dutch Grand Prix will remove one of Formula 1’s most historic venues from the schedule. From the earliest championship years and the achievements of Alberto Ascari, Jim Clark and Jackie Stewart to James Hunt’s breakthrough, Gilles Villeneuve’s unforgettable three-wheel lap and the modern celebrations surrounding Max Verstappen, almost every era has added something to Zandvoort’s story.
The circuit’s departure will also contribute to a changing Formula 1 landscape as attention turns towards the championship’s future schedule. Stefano Domenicali has already discussed when Formula 1 plans to present its 2027 calendar, while fans can follow the remaining events on the 2026 Formula 1 calendar.
Whatever happens in its final scheduled race, Zandvoort has already earned a permanent place in Formula 1 history. From Ferrari triumphs and championship celebrations to tragedy, maiden victories and heroic attempts to keep damaged cars moving, the Dutch circuit has delivered memories across generations. Bedankt, Zandvoort, for all the emotions.
Leave a Reply