'They couldn't believe I had won, thought I was joking'

Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, Nico Hulkenberg, David Coulthard, Antonio Giovinazzi and Jules Bianchi all won the Masters of Formula 3 at Zandvoort once, for years the race for young drivers to get into the spotlight of Formula 1. Three times a Dutchman won; Max Verstappen in 2014, Tom Coronel in 1997 and Jos Verstappen in 1993.

Highly regarded event

At the Masters, last held in 2016, the various Formula 3 championships came together, making it a very prestigious race. In a special from De Telegraaf leading up to the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, Jos Verstappen and Tom Coronel look back on this special race.

"The Masters was a highly regarded event," says Verstappen. "There was a lot of public too. That victory has helped me to get into Formula 1. In early August I won at Zandvoort and at the end of that year I went testing in Formula 1." In 1994, Verstappen made his Formula 1 debut at Benetton as a teammate of Michael Schumacher.

The Wimbledon of motorsport

Four years later, the Netherlands had another success when Coronel won the Masters. " During that race on Sunday, there were 80,000 people", he says. "You couldn't see a blade of grass on the dunes. When I got out of the car after the finish, I heard them chanting: 'Tommie, Tommie, Tommie.' Only then did I realize this was a very serious victory."

"Normally you couldn't overtake there, but with a bit of cheek, it worked anyway. After the race, I called Japan to tell them I had won. They couldn't believe it, thought I was joking", remembers Coronel. "Internationally, I was on the map a lot. The Masters was a bit like the Wimbledon of motorsport. You just wanted to win."