‘Dutch GP will depend on fans and funds’

Whether or not F1 heads to Zandvoort this year will depend on fans and funds with Jan Lammers saying they need Liberty to foot the bill if they race without an audience.

Formula 1 was scheduled to return to Zandvoort for the first time since 1985 in May this year.

The race, though, was put on hold as the global health situation forced sporting leagues to close down.

Although the Dutch GP was initially postponed, later reports claimed it was heading towards cancelled as Zandvoort and the Dutch government could not foot the bill for a behind-closed-doors race.

Since then reports have claimed that circuits could pay reduced hosting fees, if any at all, if the grands prix were held without an audience.

Dutch Grand Prix promoter Lammers says if that’s the case, Zandvoort may yet feature of the revised calendar.

“You are talking about quite large sums of money, which obviously not only Zandvoort has to cough up, but also other countries,” he told RTL GP.

“It is therefore also a bit about how deep the pockets of the FOM are. How much can they handle all that during this difficult period.”

However, it would also depend on whether fans have an appitite for watching the Dutch GP’s return on television only.

“If we race at Zandvoort without an audience, it will be because the audience wants it.

“We have seen here and there online that if the fans have to choose between no grand prix in Zandvoort this year or a grand prix that no fans can attend, you will notice that there is a great sentiment for a grand prix that can only be watched on TV.

“Only in such a situation can we consider it.”

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