Formula 1: Zandvoort set to replace Barcelona in the 2020 season
By Asher Fair
Circuit Zandvoort is set to replace Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on the Formula 1 schedule beginning in the 2020 season.
Beginning in the 2020 Formula 1 season, Circuit Zandvoort is set to host the Dutch Grand Prix while Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is no longer set to host the Spanish Grand Prix.
This schedule change has not yet been confirmed, as a contact between Formula 1 and the Circuit Zandvoort promoter has been agreed to but not signed, but if and when it becomes confirmed, it is expected that the Dutch Grand Prix would replace the Spanish Grand Prix as far as the scheduling slots are concerned.
This year’s Spanish Grand Prix at the 16-turn, 2.892-mile (4.654-kilometer) Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya road course in Montmelo, Catalonia, Spain is scheduled to take place in under two weeks on Sunday, May 12.
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As a result, the Dutch Grand Prix at the 13-turn, 2.676-mile (4.307-kilometer) Circuit Zandvoort road course in Zandvoort, Netherlands would likely be scheduled to take place on Sunday, May 10, 2020.
That said, the early part of the 2020 schedule is already a bit congested with the Australian Grand Prix, the Bahrain Grand Prix, the Chinese Grand Prix, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and the addition of the Vietnam Grand Prix in April, so whether or not the Dutch Grand Prix would end up actually serving as the replacement for the Spanish Grand Prix as far as scheduling is concerned remains to be seen.
Circuit Zandvoort has hosted a total of 30 Dutch Grands Prix in Formula 1 history. All 30 of those races were held between the years of 1952 and 1985. In this 34-year span, the only four seasons during which the track did not host this race were the 1954 season, the 1956 season, the 1957 season and the 1972 season.
The late Charlie Whiting, formerly the Formula 1 race director, inspected Circuit Zandvoort last year. Here is what he had to say about the matter at that time, according to Autosport.
"“There’s great potential there in Zandvoort. A few things need to be changed there, and there’s a great willingness to change. There would be a nice long straight good enough to use DRS well, and you’d maintain the historic elements of the circuit as well. I think it would be a very nice circuit.”"
The probably addition of Circuit Zandvoort to the Formula 1 schedule comes amid the rise of 21-year-old Dutchman Max Verstappen, who drives for Aston Martin Red Bull Racing and earned the first five victories of his career at an age when no other driver in the sport’s history had ever earned even one victory.
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Are you excited for the probable addition of Circuit Zandvoort to the Formula 1 schedule beginning in the 2020 season, which would mark the first Dutch Grand Prix at the track in 35 years? What are your thoughts on the probable elimination of Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and the Spanish Grand Prix?
This year’s Spanish Grand Prix is set to be broadcast live from the track beginning at 9:10 a.m. ET on Sunday, May 12, so be sure not to miss what may be its final running, at least in the foreseeable future.