The last Dutch GP at Zandvoort is just around the corner, but the significance of Formula 1’s return to the Netherlands will, according to Jeroen Bleekemolen and sporting director Jan Lammers, be felt for a long time to come. In a special episode of Formula 1 Paddock Talk, they look back on what the Grand Prix has unleashed in recent years and why its impact will probably only become fully clear much later.
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For Bleekemolen, it is special to look back on the period in which Zandvoort once again grew into one of the most talked-about locations on the Formula 1 calendar. He himself barely experienced the glory days of the old circuit in the eighties, but he has been able to experience the modern Dutch GP up close. “In ten years you will think: ‘wow, I was there!’ We were allowed to go everywhere and you are just standing among the Formula 1 cars and among the drivers and you were allowed to report on it. Those were really beautiful moments.”
Lammers, who was closely involved from the start in the return of Formula 1 to Zandvoort, also expects that the true value of the Dutch GP will only become visible with some distance. The emotions and hectic pace of recent years will soon give way to memories, while the impact on Dutch motorsport culture can become increasingly clear. “In about ten years it will probably start to sink in. In general, the further behind us it lies, the more we will realize how special it was.”
Special Dutch GP podcast
In the special episode, Bleekemolen and Lammers discuss extensively what the Dutch GP has meant for motorsport in the Netherlands, the fans, and Zandvoort itself. Because maybe the farewell of Formula 1 at the circuit is not the end of the story, but precisely the moment when it becomes clear how great the legacy of the Dutch GP really is.
Watch the entire podcast here on the website or listen to it via your favorite podcast platform such as Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Or watch the video of this episode on YouTube. Don’t forget to subscribe there so you won’t miss any episode in the future!
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