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25px Netherlands Dutch Grand Prix
Circuit Park Zandvoort
Zandvoort layout 1980 1989
Laps 70
Circuit length 4.252 km (2.640 miles)
Race length 297.640 km (184.940 miles)
Most wins by single driver 25px UK Jim Clark (4)
Most wins by single constructor 25px Italy Ferrari (9)
Last race (1985):
Winner 25px Austria Niki Lauda
Winning constructor 25px UK McLaren-TAG
Winning time 1:32:29.263
Pole time 1:11.074
Pole driver 25px Brazil Nelson Piquet
Pole constructor 25px UK Brabham-BMW
Fastest lap 1:16.538
Fastest lap driver 25px France Alain Prost
Fastest lap constructor 25px UK McLaren-TAG


The Dutch Grand Prix (Grote Prijs van Nederland) was a Formula One automobile race held at Circuit Zandvoort, near Zandvoort, the Netherlands, from 1948 to 1985. It was a part of the World Championship from 1952, and designated the European Grand Prix twice, 1962 and 1976, when this title was an honorary designation given each year to one grand prix race in Europe.

History[]

Zandvoort (1948-1985)[]

Early days and the original circuit (1948-1971)[]

The town of Zandvoort is situated in the dunes of Holland's North Sea coastline, and the circuit itself is located right next to the beach. There were minor races on a street circuit in the town in the 1930s but it was the German invasion of Holland which proved to be a stroke of luck for the locals. In an effort to stop his townsfolk being sent to Germany to work, legend has it that the mayor of Zandvoort convinced the Germans to allow them to construct a straight road through the dunes down which the Germans could hold impressive parades once victory had been achieved. This was later linked to other roads which were used to access coastal defence positions.

After the war some of these roads were widened and linked together and a racing circuit was designed, not as legend has it by John Hugenholtz, but rather by a group of officials from the Royal Dutch Motorcycle Association, with advice from Bentley Boy Sammy Davis, who had won the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1927. The first race took place in 1948, under the title of the Zandvoort Grand Prix. It was won by Thailand's Prince Bira in an old Maserati.[1] The race was then won by Louis Rosier in 1950 and 1951. 1952 was the year the Dutch Grand Prix was part of the third Formula One World Championship; this and the next year's races were won by Italian Alberto Ascari. 1955 saw yet another demonstration of Mercedes-Benz's dominance, with Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio and Briton Stirling Moss dominating the proceedings; Moss followed Fangio closely all the way. The prestigious Dutch event did not return until 1958, when it was won by Moss in a Vanwall. 1959 saw Swede Jo Bonnier win his only Formula One championship event and 1960 saw Dan Gurney have an accident and a spectator was killed; the race was won by Jack Brabham in a Cooper.

From 1963 to 1965 saw Briton Jim Clark win all three events, and 1967 saw the introduction of the Lotus 49 with its brand new Ford-Cosworth DFV engine. The DFV won on its debut with Clark driving; this engine became the most successful and widely used engine among private teams until 1985. 1970, however, saw the 49's successor, the 72 - which was just as advanced a design as the 49 had been 3 years earlier - win comprehensively with Jochen Rindt behind the wheel. Tragedy struck, however - Briton Piers Courage, driving a Frank Williams-entered De Tomaso crashed heavily near the Tunnel Oost corner after a wheel came off and hit him on the head, which killed him. The car then caught fire and burned to the ground. 1971 saw Jacky Ickx win in a Ferrari after a spirited battle with Mexican Pedro Rodríguez in a BRM in rain-soaked conditions. There was no 1972 race, however. It was originally on that year's calendar, but the drivers refused to race at Zandvoort, because the facilities and conditions of the circuit were out-of-date with Grand Prix racing at that time.

Rebuilt circuit (1973-1985)[]

Zandvoort had been extensively modified during its absence from the Grand Prix calendar. It had been lined with Armco and the cars were protected from the sand dunes and track-side obstacles. New pits were built, and the circuit also saw a chicane placed before Bosuit, the very high-speed corner that went into the pit-straight. For the 1973 race, in an indirect celebration of the efforts put forth, there was a special atmosphere at that weekend and everyone was happy, especially the organizers. But in a cruel twist of fate, that race was to be yet another black mark on Zandvoort's history and reputation. On the eighth lap of the race, Briton Roger Williamson - in only his second ever Formula One race - crashed heavily near Tunnel Oost and his car caught fire while scraping along the tarmac. Williamson was uninjured during the crash; but time was running out; he could not free himself from the car. David Purley stopped alongside, crossed the track and ran over to the burning March. Purley tried in vain to turn the car upright. There appeared to have been ample time to right the car and pull Williamson out, but as desperately as he tried, Purley was unable to do it by himself, and the marshals, who were not wearing flame retardant overalls, were unable to help due to the intense heat. Race control assumed that it was Purley's car that had crashed and that the driver had escaped unharmed. Many drivers who saw Purley waving them down to stop assumed that he was trying to put a fire out from his own car, having safely exited it, and thus did not know that a second driver had been involved. As a result the race continued at full pace while Purley desperately tried to save the life of Williamson. This did not work, and Williamson died of asphyxiation. Purley was later awarded the George Medal for his actions. The race was won by Tyrrell driver Jackie Stewart (who broke Jim Clark's record for the most career Grand Prix victories that weekend) and his teammate François Cevert finished 2nd; but no one felt like celebrating; it was one of the darkest moments in the history of the sport.

1974 saw the re-emerging Ferrari team dominate with Austrian Niki Lauda winning; and 1975 saw Briton James Hunt win his first championship Formula One race in his Hesketh. 1976 saw Hunt win again while Lauda was recovering from his dreadful crash at the Nürburgring. 1977 was probably remembered for an incident between Hunt and American Mario Andretti. Andretti attempted ambitiously to pass Hunt at the 180 degree Tarzan corner; the two cars touched and both were out of the race. Andretti won the 1978 running; his last Formula One victory. 1979 saw a change to the circuit to slow cars coming into Tunnel Oost; there was a high-speed temporary chicane put there. Canadian Gilles Villeneuve had crashed there while battling ferociously with Australian Alan Jones and damaged his left-rear suspension. But he carried on; but on the start of the next lap he went off again at Tarzan. Refusing to give up, Villeneuve, to the shock of many, went into reverse gear and drove his Ferrari out of the muddy run-off area and back onto the circuit. About halfway distance, the car's left rear rim and wheel with the suspension totally shattered was being dragged by the car as it went along; which made the Ferrari nearly impossible to drive. Villeneuve made it back to the pits without crashing or going off and retired from the race; the Grand Prix was won by Jones. 1980 saw the chicane removed and was replaced by a slower chicane before Tunnel Oost. 1981 saw a big battle between Frenchman Alain Prost in a Renault and Jones in a Williams; Prost came out on top to win. The 1982 event was won by Frenchman Didier Pironi in a Ferrari; his countryman René Arnoux had a dreadful crash at the end of the pit straight going into Tarzan; his front suspension failed on his ground-effect Renault and he went head on into the barriers; fortunately he was only slightly injured. 1983 saw a battle between championship contenders Prost and Brazilian Nelson Piquet. Prost attempted to pass Piquet at Tarzan but the Frenchman punted Piquet off and Prost crashed soon afterwards. 1985 saw Lauda take his 25th and final Grand Prix victory while holding off his charging McLaren teammate Prost near the end of the race.

1985 was the race's final running, as the company that ran the circuit (CENAV) went out of business, marking the end of the old Zandvoort circuit. The track, owned by the municipality of Zandvoort, was not used for some time and part of the grounds and approximately half of the track was sold in 1987 to Vendorado, a bungalow park developer at that time.[2] The track was eventually redesigned and is still used for other disciplines of motorsport.

Winners of the Dutch Grand Prix[]

Multiple winners (drivers)[]

A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.

Number of wins Driver Years Won
4 25px UK Jim Clark 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967
3 25px UK Jackie Stewart 1968, 1969, 1973
25px Austria Niki Lauda 1974, 1977, 1985
2 25px France Louis Rosier 1950, 1951
25px Italy Alberto Ascari 1952, 1953
25px Australia Jack Brabham 1960, 1966
25px UK James Hunt 1975, 1976
25px France Alain Prost 1981, 1984

Multiple winners (constructors)[]

Embolded constructors are still competing in the Formula One championship
A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.

Number of wins Constructor Years Won
9 25px Italy Ferrari 1949, 1952, 1953, 1961, 1971, 1974, 1977, 1982, 1983
6 25px UK Lotus 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1970, 1978
3 25px UK McLaren 1976, 1984, 1985
2 25px France Talbot-Lago 1950, 1951
25px UK BRM 1959, 1962
25px France Matra 1968, 1969
25px UK Brabham 1966, 1980

By year[]

All Dutch Grand Prix were held at Zandvoort.

Zandvoort layout 1973 1979

Zandvoort from 1973-1979

Zandvoort track layout 1948 1972

Zandvoort from 1948-1971

Note: Pink background indicates non-Championship year.

Year Driver Constructor Report
1985 25px Austria Niki Lauda McLaren-TAG Report
1984 25px France Alain Prost McLaren-TAG Report
1983 25px France René Arnoux Ferrari Report
1982 25px France Didier Pironi Ferrari Report
1981 25px France Alain Prost Renault Report
1980 25px Brazil Nelson Piquet Brabham-Ford Report
1979 25px Australia Alan Jones Williams-Ford Report
1978 25px United States Mario Andretti Lotus-Ford Report
1977 25px Austria Niki Lauda Ferrari Report
1976 25px UK James Hunt McLaren-Ford Report
1975 25px UK James Hunt Hesketh-Ford Report
1974 25px Austria Niki Lauda Ferrari Report
1973 25px UK Jackie Stewart Tyrrell-Ford Report
1972 Not held
1971 25px Belgium Jacky Ickx Ferrari Report
1970 25px Austria Jochen Rindt Lotus-Ford Report
1969 25px UK Jackie Stewart Matra-Ford Report
1968 25px UK Jackie Stewart Matra-Ford Report
1967 25px UK Jim Clark Lotus-Ford Report
1966 25px Australia Jack Brabham Brabham-Repco Report
1965 25px UK Jim Clark Lotus-Climax Report
1964 25px UK Jim Clark Lotus-Climax Report
1963 25px UK Jim Clark Lotus-Climax Report
1962 25px UK Graham Hill BRM Report
1961 25px Germany Wolfgang von Trips Ferrari Report
1960 25px Australia Jack Brabham Cooper-Climax Report
1959 25px Sweden Jo Bonnier BRM Report
1958 25px UK Stirling Moss Vanwall Report
1957 Not held
1956 Not held
1955 25px Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio Mercedes Report
1954 Not held
1953 25px Italy Alberto Ascari Ferrari Report
1952 25px Italy Alberto Ascari Ferrari Report
1951 25px France Louis Rosier Talbot-Lago Report
1950 25px France Louis Rosier Talbot-Lago Report
1949 25px Italy Luigi Villoresi Ferrari Report
1948 25px Flag of Thailand Prince Bira Maserati Report

References[]

Races in the Formula One championship:

Current

AustralianMalaysianChineseBahrainSpanishMonacoCanadianBritishGermanHungarianBelgianItalianSingaporeKoreanJapaneseIndianAbu DhabiUSABrazilian

Future
(confirmed)

New: Russian (2014)
American (2014) Returning: none

Former

ArgentineAustrianCaesars PalaceDallasDetroitDutchEuropeanFrenchIndy 500LuxembourgMexicanMoroccanPacificPescaraPortugueseSan MarinoSouth AfricanSwedishSwissTurkishUSA West

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