Alternation for survival
In recent hours, the prospects of Formula 1 returning to Kyalami in South Africa for the following Formula 1 season have collapsed. The excessive proximity between South Africa and Russia at a political level has distanced the sport from what would have been a great comeback on a technically interesting circuit. The end of competition from South Africa initially seemed to open the doors to the Belgian Grand Prix staying on the 2024 calendar, but the issue could be much more complex and not just a simplistic conclusions.
According to the Belgian newspaper Le Soir, Belgium and the Netherlands are reportedly considering an alternation between the Spa-Francorchamps and Zandvoort circuits starting in 2024. Zandvoort returned to Formula 1 in 2021 – it was supposed to debut in 2020, but the pandemic postponed everything by a year – and both editions have seen sold-out crowds thanks to a nation crazy about Max Verstappen, who won on both occasions. Last December, the contract between Zandvoort and Liberty Media was officially renewed until the 2025 Formula 1 campaign. So why is there suddenly talk of an alternation with Spa-Francorchamps starting as early as 2024?
The reason is that just a few days ago, it was reported that Max Verstappen and Zandvoort lost the support of Jumbo, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands and Belgium, whose owner, Fritz Van Eerd, was arrested for money laundering.
This sudden “crisis” in terms of economic coverage for the Dutch round could lead Spa-Francorchamps and Zandvoort to form an alliance and create a new Benelux Grand Prix (referring to the nations of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg) that rotates between the two aforementioned circuits from year to year. The alternation between two European circuits could be the “new frontier” for historic circuits to remain part of the F1 calendar at least every other year.
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Former Ferrari driver Jean Alesi, recently in charge of the Paul Ricard circuit in France, is indeed seeking to establish agreements with other circuits to implement the same mechanism that Zandvoort and Spa-Francorchamps intend to adopt. It is an “extreme” solution to cope with the colossal figures offered to Formula 1 by non-European countries to be included in the Formula 1 calendar.
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