112 GP RACING MARCH 2020
than one: for the drivers, but also to actually build. Thebanking is
18 degrees. The old Monza banking [last used by F1 in 1961] was 21 degrees,
so it’s close to that. It will be quite a sight.”
The banked corners at Luyendyk and Hugenholtz – the latter named
after Zandvoort’s old circuit manager, John Hugenholtz, who also designed
Suzuka – will bethe signature changes to Zandvoort. Revisions to the rest
of the circuit appear to be minimal. The Hugenholtztweaks are part of a
move to open up more room in the paddock area, which is far smaller than
F1 has become used to in this modern‘Tilk edrome’ era.
“They are not changing Zandvoort dramatically,” says Koense. “It’s being
done in a creative way. Youwon’t feel like you’ve just walked into the
paddock in Bahrain. It’s down to earth, purposeful andthus less expensive.”
Keepingthat old-school spirit alive while still fulfilling the high demands of
F1 is the trick – particularly without agovernment-backed, limitless budget.
The finance for the project has been raisedthrough a combination of
proactive partners, including topconstruction company VolkerWessels,
which is carrying out the circuit renovations, plus F1 and race sponsors,
and significant ticket salesfor a race that was always likely to be a sell-
out. “They have sold a lot of tickets, which is still a lucrativething to do,”
says Koense. “That’s 300,000 tickets in total, because theywan t to have
100,000 on each day – and there are almost no tickets to be found already.”
But what about transporting those large crowds in and out of Zandvoort,
which has limited access routes, withoutcreating horrible congestion?
It’s often a problem at ‘heritage’ tracks built years ago in rural settings, as
the example of Paul Ricard highlighted when the French GP returned to
the calendar in 2018. Here, the Dutch have come up with another clever
solution – and one that is at the centre of their national identity.
“One of the largest bicycle manufacturers in Holland is involved,” says
Koense. “They aregoing to giveeverybody a bike tocycle to the track from
new, huge car parks, which are situated a few kilometres from the circuit.
This is another example of original thinking, some of it out of necessity.They are also building a new railway station to transport many more
people within each hour from Amsterdam [about 30 minutes away]
to Zandvoort. The bicycle idea is also a way to promote Holland, because
that is what we are famous for. We are a cycling country. The image of
thousands ofpeople heading to agrand prix on bicycles is a good one.”
Koense was involved in the racing festivals that alsoplayed a part in
the grand prix return, and at which Verstappen and his Red Bull team-
mates put on F1 demonstrations. “One year we invited [Red Bull driver
development boss] HelmutMar ko,” Koense says. “He couldn’t believe
it. He said ‘we run a GP at the Red Bull Ring and we haveto fight to sell
tickets. Here, a guy drives around in a car for afew demonstration laps and
there are 100,000 people for two days’. Suchpeople go back and tell the
rest about it atthe next grand prix. That’s how the ballstar ted rolling.”
That ball will keep rolling for at least three years, hopefully for five
and maybe more, if circuit co-owner Bernhard van Oranje and his
energetic team canpull off a feat once considered impossible. Would it
have happened were Bernie Ecclestone still at F1’s helm? Unlikely. Under
Liberty Media, there seems to be a renewed understandingthat simply
waiting for the highest bidder is not the best way for F1 to decide where to
race. Tradition, and a recognition that races should be held in countries
where realfans want them, suddenly matters again.
“We’re excited togrow this sport in new markets like Vietnam but it is
important to continue to build the foundation of the sport in Europe, which
is the home of F1,” saidF1 chief executive officer Chase Carey when the new
Dutch GP deal was announced. “It’s where itwas built. So to go back to
Zandvoort, which has such a rich history, is very important to us.”
That should mean F1’s next target must beto restore another ‘grandee’
grand prix. The nation that gave usMercedes-Benz and remainsEurope’s
automotive powerhouse is only second to Brazil on that TV audience list, but
is currently without a race. This calendar is brighter for Zandvoort’s return,
but it won’t be complete until a German GP is back on the schedule beside it.VIETNAM:
THE NEW INDIA
OR SINGAPORE?
Turkey, India, South Korea:all nations
with little or nomotor racingculture
but which invested heavily in shiny,
new GPvenues,hosted F1 briefly–
then dropped off the map with little
hope of a return.Turkey’s track was
at leasta decent one, but they areallnow footnotes in F1 history.
Will Vietnam’s new 3.48-mile, 23-
turn circuit in culturally rich Hanoi join
them – or can it become established
like the street tracks in Singapore
and Baku as a beaconfor how F1
can work in new regions?We’re onthe edge of our seats.
The reason F1 is attractedto
Vietnam, which is slatedfor a race
on 5 April unless theCoronavirus
intervenes, is simple. In the past 30
years, political and economic stability
has turned a country most associatedOTHER PICTURES:VIETMAN GP2020 SEASON PREVIEW
112 GP RACING MARCH 2020
than one: for the drivers, but also to actually build. Thebanking is
18 degrees. The old Monza banking [last used by F1 in 1961] was 21 degrees,
so it’s close to that. It will be quite a sight.”
The banked corners at Luyendyk and Hugenholtz – the latter named
after Zandvoort’s old circuit manager, John Hugenholtz, who also designed
Suzuka – will bethe signature changes to Zandvoort. Revisions to the rest
of the circuit appear to be minimal. The Hugenholtztweaks are part of a
move to open up more room in the paddock area, which is far smaller than
F1 has become used to in this modern‘Tilk edrome’ era.
“They are not changing Zandvoort dramatically,” says Koense. “It’s being
done in a creative way. Youwon’t feel like you’ve just walked into the
paddock in Bahrain. It’s down to earth, purposeful andthus less expensive.”
Keepingthat old-school spirit alive while still fulfilling the high demands of
F1 is the trick – particularly without agovernment-backed, limitless budget.
The finance for the project has been raisedthrough a combination of
proactive partners, including topconstruction company VolkerWessels,
which is carrying out the circuit renovations, plus F1 and race sponsors,
and significant ticket salesfor a race that was always likely to be a sell-
out. “They have sold a lot of tickets, which is still a lucrativething to do,”
says Koense. “That’s 300,000 tickets in total, because theywan t to have
100,000 on each day – and there are almost no tickets to be found already.”
But what about transporting those large crowds in and out of Zandvoort,
which has limited access routes, withoutcreating horrible congestion?
It’s often a problem at ‘heritage’ tracks built years ago in rural settings, as
the example of Paul Ricard highlighted when the French GP returned to
the calendar in 2018. Here, the Dutch have come up with another clever
solution – and one that is at the centre of their national identity.
“One of the largest bicycle manufacturers in Holland is involved,” says
Koense. “They aregoing to giveeverybody a bike tocycle to the track from
new, huge car parks, which are situated a few kilometres from the circuit.
This is another example of original thinking, some of it out of necessity.They are also building a new railway station to transport many more
people within each hour from Amsterdam [about 30 minutes away]
to Zandvoort. The bicycle idea is also a way to promote Holland, because
that is what we are famous for. We are a cycling country. The image of
thousands ofpeople heading to agrand prix on bicycles is a good one.”
Koense was involved in the racing festivals that alsoplayed a part in
the grand prix return, and at which Verstappen and his Red Bull team-
mates put on F1 demonstrations. “One year we invited [Red Bull driver
development boss] HelmutMar ko,” Koense says. “He couldn’t believe
it. He said ‘we run a GP at the Red Bull Ring and we haveto fight to sell
tickets. Here, a guy drives around in a car for afew demonstration laps and
there are 100,000 people for two days’. Suchpeople go back and tell the
rest about it atthe next grand prix. That’s how the ballstar ted rolling.”
That ball will keep rolling for at least three years, hopefully for five
and maybe more, if circuit co-owner Bernhard van Oranje and his
energetic team canpull off a feat once considered impossible. Would it
have happened were Bernie Ecclestone still at F1’s helm? Unlikely. Under
Liberty Media, there seems to be a renewed understandingthat simply
waiting for the highest bidder is not the best way for F1 to decide where to
race. Tradition, and a recognition that races should be held in countries
where realfans want them, suddenly matters again.
“We’re excited togrow this sport in new markets like Vietnam but it is
important to continue to build the foundation of the sport in Europe, which
is the home of F1,” saidF1 chief executive officer Chase Carey when the new
Dutch GP deal was announced. “It’s where itwas built. So to go back to
Zandvoort, which has such a rich history, is very important to us.”
That should mean F1’s next target must beto restore another ‘grandee’
grand prix. The nation that gave usMercedes-Benz and remainsEurope’s
automotive powerhouse is only second to Brazil on that TV audience list, but
is currently without a race. This calendar is brighter for Zandvoort’s return,
but it won’t be complete until a German GP is back on the schedule beside it.VIETNAM:
THE NEW INDIA
OR SINGAPORE?
Turkey, India, South Korea:all nations
with little or nomotor racingculture
but which invested heavily in shiny,
new GPvenues,hosted F1 briefly–
then dropped off the map with little
hope of a return.Turkey’s track was
at leasta decent one, but they areallnow footnotes in F1 history.
Will Vietnam’s new 3.48-mile, 23-
turn circuit in culturally rich Hanoi join
them – or can it become established
like the street tracks in Singapore
and Baku as a beaconfor how F1
can work in new regions?We’re onthe edge of our seats.
The reason F1 is attractedto
Vietnam, which is slatedfor a race
on 5 April unless theCoronavirus
intervenes, is simple. In the past 30
years, political and economic stability
has turned a country most associatedOT
HER PICTURES
:VIETMAN GP
2020 SEASON PREVIEW