Dutch GP circuit eyes two landmark deals ahead of F1 calendar exit

Back in 2024, Circuit Zandvoort announced that after the F1 2026 season, it intends to let its contract with the sport expire without an extension, thereby knocking the Dutch Grand Prix off the calendar following its 2021 revival.

Never fear, though; Zandvoort is already looking at a variety of other racing series it can host on its iconic grounds. And it’s particularly interested in attracting NASCAR or IndyCar.

Dutch GP organizers hope to welcome NASCAR to Zandvoort

In 2019, Formula 1 announced that the Dutch Grand Prix would make a triumphant return to the series calendar after the event fell off the calendar after the 1985 event.

Circuit Zandvoort underwent a major overhaul. While the layout itself remained the same Turns 3 and 14 were reprofiled in such a way as to add banking, while the municipality of Zandvoort invested millions of euros into making the venue more accessible for fans.

The COVID-19 pandemic postponed the event’s return until 2021, coinciding perfectly with the ascendance of hometown hero Max Verstappen.

But the deal between Zandvoort and F1 is set to come to an end following the F1 2026 event. That’s largely because the circuit is hoping to attract new and different series to the Holland track.

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RN365 had a chance to speak with Robert van Overdijk, Zandvoort’s general director, about the circuit’s final event and what will come next.

As far as Formula 1 goes, Van Overdijk admitted that “Formula 1 will shift its focus back to other continents” following the checkered flag at the 2026 Dutch GP, and that “after that, it won’t come back to the Netherlands for years. And maybe never again.”

According to Van Overdijk, Formula One Management was disappointed in Zandvoort’s decision to end its F1 partnership, yet it ultimately understood why the decision was made.

A majority of Formula 1 tracks on the calendar today require government subsidies in order to afford the sport’s lofty sanctioning fees, and Zandvoort is one of the few circuits that doesn’t receive any annual funding from its home country. That makes it challenging for the venue to make a profit from its F1 weekends.

But other motorsport series don’t require sanctioning fees — or, at the very least, they don’t require such hefty fees.

“Ultimately, we only have four UBO (no sound limit) weekends in the year,” Van Overdijk said. “One of those will be released in 2027.

“Of course I’ve been talking to different parties who are interested in that for quite some time.

“What’s important to us as a circuit is that something comes in return. It can never be as big as Formula 1, but you shouldn’t be looking for that either.”

Van Overdijk has certain requirements — mainly, that any future events have “to provide spectacle.”

“I personally — but that’s my personal opinion — do like to look across the pond to America with a slanted eye,” he said.

“And whether that’s IndyCar or NASCAR, I’ll leave that for a while. I think both are spectacular and you can create a very cool show around them.

“But again, that’s my personal preference.”

Circuit Zandvoort has indeed been rumored to join the NASCAR Cup Series calendar at some point in the future as the American sport eyes a greater international influence.

In 2025, NASCAR shipped its racers down to Mexico City, where it took on the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez Formula 1 track just months after it paid a visit to Austin, Texas’ Circuit of The Americas.

The Mexico City race represented the Cup Series’ first points-paying race outside of the United States since 1958, and it arrived with ample fanfare from fan who praised the series’ willingness to try something new.

A fling with Zandvoort would be fitting, considering the banked nature of some of the track’s turns.

IndyCar makes an annual visit to Toronto, Canada, but its international ambitions have largely remained in the works for the past decade, with CEO Mark Miles pushing the anticipated international date further and further into the future.

NASCAR’s visit to Mexico City forced IndyCar’s hand in many ways, proving that there was not only a market for motorsport internationally but that the fans would turn out in droves to support it.

The primary hurdle to IndyCar or NASCAR paying a visit to Zandvoort will be in terms of scheduling.

The Cup Series competes for 38 weekends of the year, meaning that there are ample back-to-back events.

For example, NASCAR had to haul its equipment from Michigan International Speedway down to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in under five days.

After the checkered flag in Mexico, crews packed up and drove up to Pocono Raceway for the subsequent weekend’s race.

IndyCar has a sparser schedule and could therefore more easily accommodate a jaunt to Europe, though it must be said that the open-wheel series is far smaller than NASCAR.

Whatever the case, Zandvoort is in for an exciting new future.

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