"A sold out house for three days is of course a good showcase for F1"

The Dutch Grand Prix in 2021 will be on the Formula 1 calendar in September and hopes to have full grandstands at their huge event. They will also have the opportunity to watch other major events in the Netherlands.

The Dutch Grand Prix in 2020 was actually due to be held in May, but because of the coronavirus this did not happen. However, the organisation and also the F1 want to keep the Dutch GP for all those fans. That was the biggest reason to come to the Netherlands. Robert van Overdijk is still expecting that sea of orange fans.

''We still assume that with the majority of vaccinated people in the Netherlands, we can do that race with a full house. Now I think that testing 100,000 is still too difficult, but one of our sponsors CM.com is now working hard to make that happen. If you see what the technology has already made for steps, then I expect that it will only happen more," says the circuit director of Zandvoort at the podcast F1 aan Tafel.

Should the event not be able to attract so many fans to the circuit, Zandvoort has several more examples to learn from. According to Van Overdijk, there is close contact with the organisations of the Eurovision Song Contest, the Invictus Games and the organisers of the European Championships 2021. They have to organise a major event earlier in the year and people in Zandvoort can learn from that.

''In the end, FOM is also convinced that it will yield very nice places here, so it was not only in our interest to do the Grand Prix only in September. A sold-out house for three days is of course a good showcase for other organisers for Formula 1. The FOM is also very curious about how it will be," concludes Van Overdijk.