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'Formula 1 will return to Zandvoort, but I don't dare stick a year to it'

'Formula 1 will return to Zandvoort, but I don't dare stick a year to it'

29-12-2020 17:09 Last update: 17:30

GPblog.com

In 2020, Formula 1 should have returned to Dutch soil after 35 years. Circuit Zandvoort would organise the Dutch Grand Prix again, but the coronavirus threw a spanner in the works. The race is back on the calendar in 2021, but it is not yet certain if it will actually take place.

Shopping again

"What was supposed to be a top year turned out to be a disaster year," says Ferry Verbrugge in conversation with the AD. Verbrugge is the owner of the Pole Position business and hoped for a great year for his shop, but everything went differently. Because no one knows how the pandemic will continue, Verbrugge again bought a lot of merchandise for 2021. "I have to, otherwise there is nothing more."

F1 is coming back, but when?

Zandvoort itself has been given extra time for the Grand Prix in 2021. Compared to 2020, the race is four months later in the year. Lana Lemmens, managing director of Zandvoort Marketing, keeps the hope that the race can continue in 2021.

"Of course, you always keep in mind that little voice that says: 'Is the crowd going to continue tightly?' Because yes, there is a chance that we will have to repeat what happened this year. But Formula 1 will come back here anyway, I am convinced of that. I just don't dare to stick the year to it with 100% certainty any more," Lemmens concludes.