Zandvoort to be EXTENDED in 2024 amid rising success of the Dutch Grand Prix

Crowd in the grandstands — Photo: © LAT Images

Dutch Grand Prix

Zandvoort to be EXTENDED in 2024 amid rising success of the Dutch Grand Prix

Hopefully next year's event will be even more dramatic...

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Thursday 31 August 2023 15:42

The Zandvoort circuit is set to be extended, adding six garages to the pit-lane in time for next year's Dutch Grand Prix.

This year's event was chaotic to say the least, with two heavy downpours, two safety car periods and a red flag making for a thrilling race, with Max Verstappen ultimately coming out on top for his ninth consecutive race victory, equalling the Formula One record for consecutive wins.

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Due to the changeable conditions, Verstappen ended up coming into the pits six times, whilst everybody else on the grid also racked up the pit-stops.

Unfortunately, the pit-lane at Zandvoort is one of the smallest on the F1 calendar, meaning that not all of the cars could fit in to change their tyres at the same time.

Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but in the interchangeable conditions we saw last weekend, this added to the chaotic nature of the race as most teams opted not to double-stack their cars meaning some were hampered by having to stay out an extra lap in difficult conditions.

Now, Dutch GP sporting director and former F1 driver Jan Lammers has told Motorsport.com that they will extend the pit-lane in time for next year's event.

"We could do with more space to just allow for a bit more safety and also for the pit stops so there's just more working space," he said.

"In view of that we will have an extension of the pit garages and pit lane next year, so towards the Tarzan corner, Turn 1, we will have an extension of six boxes."

Max Verstappen won the Dutch Grand Prix in 2023 for Red Bull

Is the Dutch GP at risk in the future?

This new extension is all part of the event's plan to confirm its long-term future on the F1 calendar.

Until 2021, the circuit hadn't been on the calendar since 1985.

The main appeal of bringing it back was to allow Verstappen to race in-front of his adoring home fans with the rise of 'Max mania' in the Netherlands, and the orange army (as they are now famously known around the world) have created an atmosphere unlike at any other circuit.

Verstappen clearly feels at home there too, having won all three of the races there since Zandvoort's return to the calendar.

The size of the paddock area and pit-lane were seen as some of the main drawbacks of bringing the circuit back in the first place, and Lammers hopes that these developments will hope to keep Zandvoort in F1.

"We develop in stages,” he noted. “We've done the circuit entry road, that's improved, it's newly paved and new tarmac, so it's all brand new.

“And the pitlane is just the next stage of the development, so there's a lot more plans for the future. And generally we improve where we can improve, and we will adapt where we have to adapt.”