'Provisional calendar has multiple victims, including Dutch Grand Prix'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
For a Dutch Grand Prix at Circuit Zandvoort in 2020, the door is still open as long as no final calendar has been announced. Messages of the last few weeks show that this chance is getting smaller and reporter Ted Kravitz doesn't haven good news either.
According to the British veteran in the pitlane, the Dutch Grand Prix is not on Liberty Media's preliminary list for the 2020 calendar. The race at circuit Zandvoort should be held sometime in August or September, when the double Grands Prix in Austria and Great Britain have already been held.
According to the plans Kravits has seen, Hungary, Spain, Belgium, Italy and perhaps Germany are now on the programme for those months. Because the Formula 1 circus will leave the European continent at the end of September and it is logistically difficult to return, a Grand Prix at Zandvoort will not be there this year.
Dutch Grand Prix not the only victim
The reason that the Netherlands is disappearing is the organization's desire to drive with the public. If that isn't possible, Zandvoort wants to get compensation from Liberty Media for that and that's why the Netherlands will not be considered for this season, according to Kravitz in his 'notebook' for Sky Sports F1.
The GP of the Netherlands should not be the only one left behind in the provisional calendar. Also the race in Singapore will most likely be cancelled and Paul Ricard is not even mentioned anymore. Finally, there is great uncertainty about the North American races. The COVID-19 pandemic is still close to it's peak there. The race in Montreal would already have been abandoned and the United States and Mexico are also at risk.