Five Things to Know About the Dutch GP

Everyone is back from summer break and we’re heading straight to the beach… Circuit Zandvoort hosts Formula 1's return and the start of the final 10 races of 2024.

It’s a vintage venue that made its World Championship debut in 1952, but it was a return to the calendar in 2021 that brought the flowing, undulating corners back into the limelight.

Whether you remember the Dutch delights from years gone by, including Alan Jones’ 1979 victory, or you’re a relative newcomer to racing in the Netherlands, we've collated five things worth knowing about this weekend’s race.

And we’re not talking about the province of North Holland, within which Zandvoort is situated.

The Dutch Grand Prix is Formula 1’s most northerly race, just shading out Silverstone which held that crown throughout Zandvoort’s 35-year hiatus from the calendar.

Being situated right on the coast, you might think it’s also F1’s lowest-altitude race, but you’d be mistaken. It misses out on that title by a considerable margin, with the upcoming Azerbaijan GP actually situated below sea level at -28m, compared to Zandvoort’s +7m.

Much like the circuit itself, the 2023 Dutch GP weekend was a rollercoaster ride.

Saturday’s Qualifying session saw us secure our best grid position of the entire campaign, with Alex putting his FW45 in P4.

Not only did this mark our best Saturday ranking of the entire season, but it also matched Alex’s personal best quali performances, with fourth a position he has lined up on the grid a total of five times.

It’s not just Formula 1 that returns this weekend, as F1 Academy also features on the Zandvoort billing for its fourth round.

This represents an opportunity for Lia Block to build on her best weekend of the season last time out, at a circuit she has some experience in thanks to two days of testing back in April.

Lia sits P11 in the standings with 10 points to her name, nine of which were earned at the previous round in June.

Our 17-year-old American racer will be on track twice on Friday in two practice sessions, before Qualifying plus Race 1 on Saturday and Race 2 on Sunday.

Zandvoort hosts plenty of jaw-dropping corners, but the Hugenholtzbocht left-hander stands out from the other 13 turns around the 4.259 km course.

With banking that registers at 18.7 degrees, flinging drivers around on the run to Turn 4, it’s only fair that it bears the name of Dutch track designer John Hugenholtz.

Despite Hugenholtz acting as a director at Circuit Zandvoort for multiple decades, his involvement in the layout remained limited, with the circuit initially sticking to pre-existing roads for much of the course.

However, Hugenholtz's career saw him design several other classic F1 venues, including Suzuka, 10-time F1 circuit Zolder, and Hockenheim's stadium section, among others, before tragically dying in 1995 as a consequence of injuries from a car crash at Zandvoort.

Williams Racing's first Formula 1 world champion Alan Jones won the 1979 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort to cap his only run of three consecutive race victories in a stellar career.

Alan found his first taste of success for Williams Racing one month earlier at the Hockenheimring, leading a 1-2 finish for us ahead of Clay Regazzoni in the sister FW07.

Austria came two weeks later, where Alan triumphed with a mighty 36-second gap before taking a third successive victory at Zandvoort, lapping every driver that wasn't on the podium.