Zandvoort says delayed August race may not be ‘ethical’

Lammers doubts whether the world will be ready to go back racing by August

(GMM) Organizers of the Dutch GP say it is the right thing to postpone the May 3 race at Zandvoort.

On Thursday, it was decided that Zandvoort and Barcelona will be delayed, while the prestigious Monaco GP, scheduled for May 24, has been cancelled outright.

Jan Lammers, representing Zandvoort, told the Dutch broadcaster NOS that postponement is the right decision.

"On the day that Bruno Bruins resigns, we should not be talking about sports," he said.

As the world crumbles under the pressure of the global pandemic, Dutch sports minister Bruins collapsed in parliament on Thursday and later resigned.

"During these weeks he worked himself almost to death to fight the corona crisis, so the grand prix of Zandvoort is absolutely not important," Lammers said.

"We would have had more trouble if the race had gone ahead on May 3. Apart from the fact that it would have been unwise, it would have been unethical."

Lammers is even skeptical that a rescheduled race in August should happen.

"How realistic is that, and should you as a fan even want it?" he wondered.

"That means we have to get this virus out of the country and the world by July. We want people to come to us with a good feeling. Can we expect that in August?

"The first priority is that we are all healthy. It is only right to make a move when we are socially, sportingly and economically ready. And that is not yet the case," Lammers added.

Zandvoort circuit director Robert van Overdijk says a more realistic target for a race may be 2021.

"Of course we are looking carefully at this year, but we are also already looking at dates for next year," he told Algemeen Dagblad.

"Nobody has a crystal ball – nobody knows when we will control this virus, or if we ever will. So because of that, we cannot guarantee anything."