The demise of the Dutch Grand Prix and what it means for Formula 1

I can’t have been the only observer who was taken aback to read that the Dutch GP will disappear from the F1 calendar after the 2026 race. You would be forgiven for thinking this decision was a result of the sheer quantity of orange in the grandstands at Zandvoort being found to cause eye strain, but there is actually something much more fundamental going on.

The official reason behind yesterday’s announcement is that the promoter is struggling to make the event financially viable. This surprises me, because I was under the impression that it had been sold out every year since it secured its current slot in 2021. If the Dutch Grand Prix can’t make money when F1 is being dominated by a Dutchman, something is obviously going wrong, so what might the problem be?

It might be that Zandvoort spent so much upgrading its facilities to Formula 1 standards that it can’t hope to recoup its investment, but I suspect this decision is more likely to be connected to the fee the promoter pays for staging the race, which is reported to amount to 32 million dollars a year. For a circuit that is privately owned and receives no funding from the Dutch government, this is an enormous amount of money. By way of comparison, the only other circuit on the calendar that receives no government funding whatsoever is Silverstone, which is reported to pay some 7 million dollars less.  

The problem for both venues is that recent additions to ever-expanding season are paying far more than that. For instance, Qatar is rumoured to pay as much as 55 million dollars a year for its place in F1’s travelling circus – a sum it can easily afford because it is bankrolled by the Qatari government. The same is true of other big spenders like China and Azerbaijan, whose governments see their Grand Prix as golden opportunities to polish their countries’ images in front of a huge international audience.

Since they took over the running of Formula 1, Liberty Media has done a fantastic job of expanding the sport’s global audience, but the imminent demise of Zandvoort as a Formula 1 venue has again raised concerns that core European markets with a strong tradition in motorsport are being priced out of hosting races by governments with deep pockets and questionable records on human rights. We have already lost the German Grand Prix, and yesterday’s announcement has sparked speculation that Rwanda could be the next country to host Formula 1. I am fully supportive of the idea of holding a race in Africa, but is a country run by a dictator who has been accused of serious human rights abuses really the right place to do it?

I’ve said it before, and I’ve said it again. Formula 1 is booming, and getting new audiences involved in the sport is unambiguously a good thing, but its decision-makers need to be wary of alienating its overwhelming European core audience – not to mention damaging its reputation by endorsing some unsavoury political regimes. Growing the sport is one thing, chasing the money is another.

What did you think about this post? Are my concerns justified, or am I barking up the wrong tree? Which circuits would you like to see added to the F1 calendar? Let me know by leaving a comment!