F1 News: Zandvoort admits Dutch GP could disappear after 2025 (2nd Update)

(GMM) Officials at the Dutch GP venue Zandvoort are breathing a sigh of relief, as circuit boss Robert van Overdijk decides to stay on board.

Recently, van Overdijk was strongly linked with a change of management career to the world of professional football, with several approaches rumored to have been made.

But ahead of critical talks about extending the Dutch GP contract beyond 2025, De Telegraaf newspaper now reports that van Overdijk is not only staying, but he’s joining two other Dutchmen to become a co-owner of Zandvoort.

“For me, the appreciation, and the fact that I am now also a co-owner on top of the ambitions that we have, is a new incentive,” he is quoted as saying.

One of the other co-owners and member of the Dutch royal family, Prince Bernhard of Orange-Nassau, admitted he is relieved that van Overdijk is staying.

“On the one hand, we as shareholders felt flattered by the reporting,” he said when asked about the football rumors. “But on the other hand, it was also a wake-up call.”

(GMM) Despite the event’s popularity, and the obvious link with Dutchman Max Verstappen, the future of the Formula 1 race at Zandvoort remains clouded.

Circuit boss Robert van Overdijk told local radio broadcaster ZFM Zandvoort that the circuit is being upgraded to catch up with modern F1 standards – particularly the narrow pitlane and small garages.

“That was necessary,” he admitted. “I remember when Carlos Sainz drove over a wheel-gun and it suddenly became clear – the pitlane is too tight.

“FOM and the FIA said ‘If you want to continue, you have to do something about it.”

However, the current Dutch GP contract runs only until 2025 – and negotiations are now in full swing, van Overdijk reports.

When asked how it’s proceeding, he insisted: “We are not an oil state, where contracts can be extended for ten or 12 years. We need a few more months before we can make this decision.

“But it is clear that FOM would like to continue coming here, and you don’t make these kinds of investments for the short term.”

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(GMM) Zandvoort boss Robert van Overdijk admits a cloud hangs over the future of the highly-popular Dutch GP.

Recent reports suggest the event might have to alternate a single annual calendar spot with the Belgian GP at Spa-Francorchamps.

“We know that FOM wants to move towards a situation with fewer races in Europe and may start working with a rotation schedule from 2025,” van Overdijk told Dutch media.

“But we don’t know what that will look like,” he added.

“It is certainly not self-evident that we will remain on the calendar every year after 2025, although that is of course our ambition.”

Complicating the situation even further for the Dutch GP organizers is that local authorities are set to impose a EUR 900,000 tax on the event to cover associated costs.

“We do not agree,” van Overdijk said, “because we think we bring a lot of money in with this event and the municipality can live on that for years to come.

“But if it’s introduced, we’ll have to swallow it.”

As for F1’s idea about a sort of ‘Benelux GP’ rotating between Zandvoort and Spa each year, van Overdijk suggests the ball is very much in Formula 1’s court.

“What happens after 2025 is not for us but for FOM to determine,” he insisted.

“We have not yet had any discussions about this, because FOM has not yet decided. Many contracts with circuits expire in 2025 and FOM will have to figure out how many races they still want in Europe.”