ZANDVOORT, Netherlands — Since rejoining the Formula 1 calendar in 2021, the Dutch Grand Prix at Circuit Zandvoort has been one of the sport's brightest success stories. Every year, sold-out crowds have flocked to the seaside track — by train, on bikes, and in very few cars — creating a relaxed, party-like atmosphere even when the wind and rain pick up off the North Sea.

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has credited the race with pioneering "sustainable solutions that have inspired our events around the world as we drive towards being Net Zero by 2030." The return of the race coincided with the meteoric rise of hometown hero Max Verstappen, who won his first of four world championships in 2021 and has won the Dutch GP three times.

But this year's edition is the Final Lap, as the promoters have named it. In December 2024, F1 announced that the race would leave the schedule after 2026, alongside a one-year contract extension for the final event. F1 said the decision to leave was the promoter's. In a statement at the time, Domenicali said that F1 respected the promoter's choice to end its run in 2026.

An Emotional Business Decision

In the promoter's telling, it's not that the race failed. It's purely a business decision. Robert van Overdijk, the director of the Dutch GP, said in an interview with The Athletic at Zandvoort that they are intentionally ending on a high note after weighing the risks and responsibilities of hosting a modern-day F1 race.

It was an "emotional" decision, as van Overdijk put it. He likened it to professional athletes' careers and when they decide to call it quits.

"They have been the number one in the world, and they keep going on, and then they are decreasing to number 80 in the world, and then they quit," he explained. "I think this has been such an iconic part of the world of Formula 1, the past five, six years, that we wanted — voluntarily wanted — to stop at our high, and that's the decision we made."

Millions at Risk

It costs millions of dollars to host a Grand Prix weekend. Zandvoort, for example, has a budget of around €70 million to put on the three-day show, which is made up mostly of temporary structures. Unlike most events on the F1 calendar, the Dutch Grand Prix is privately funded, promoted by a partnership of three companies (SportVibes, TIG Sports, and Circuit Zandvoort), and receives no direct government funding, though public funds have supported surrounding infrastructure. Silverstone is another example of a privately run event, as the British Racing Drivers' Club owns and operates the historic track.

"Everything we do here is for our own financial risk," Van Overdijk said.

Van Overdijk said the Dutch GP fell outside the criteria for Dutch government support, which he described as being reserved for events such as a European or world championship. The Dutch health ministry's scheme for international top-sport events funds one-off competitions rather than recurring ones annually, and caps awards at €3 million. The Dutch GP, van Overdijk said, "was outside all of the jurisdiction and boxes that government put in place to decide who's going to get governmental support and who's not." He called it "quite strange."

Economic Impact vs. Financial Fragility

Breda University of Applied Sciences put the added economic value of the 2021 weekend at €8.9 million for Zandvoort and €23.2 million across the wider Amsterdam Metropolitan Region. Those figures came from a race run at two-thirds capacity under COVID-19 restrictions, meaning a full-attendance year would likely land higher.

One of the train lines is nicknamed "The Max Express" for the weekend, and as early as Friday morning this year, lines formed outside Amsterdam Centraal station as fans waited for the train to Zandvoort.

Fans are bearing a financial hit this year, though. VAT on overnight accommodation rose from 9 to 21 percent in January. The promoters also raised ticket prices 15 to 20 percent for the Sprint-format finale.

"The fan is paying it by a higher ticket price," Van Overdijk said.

To be able to pay the bills, the Dutch Grand Prix needs to be a sell-out for all three days — more than 100,000 spectators a day filling the stands.

"From a commercial point of view, you don't earn your money on the first 10,000 tickets. You earn them from the last 10,000 tickets," he explained. "So, if we would bump into a race that would sell, let's say, minus 20 percent on ticket sales, then we're screwed, so to say."

"It's a very thin line we balance on. So a plus-10,000 in spectators or minus-10,000, that makes a huge difference for us in terms of risk."

He said that the Dutch market is much smaller than those of Italy, England, or the United States, and that they have already seen a slight decrease in interest over the last two years — a shift the event acknowledged publicly in 2025.

"The risk is simply too high for us to continue," he continued. "And maybe if we had extended for another year, it would be possible to have a sustainable business case. But we can't see further than that in the future. We can't decide for, let's say, four or five years to extend our contract. That's financially too big of a risk."

Rotation Talks and the Road Ahead

The initial contract was three years plus two, meaning there could be two extensions. According to Van Overdijk, "After that, the talks were about what are you able to do in the Netherlands? Is it an extension of three years?"

Van Overdijk said there were conversations about rotating with other tracks, such as Spa and Barcelona, starting in 2027, but the business case doesn't work. He questioned what the organization would do in a non-race year, and whether sponsors would commit to activating every other year.

To get Zandvoort back on the calendar, Van Overdijk said they'd "need a government who's willing to back us up, or back us up in risk, or we need a new Max who's able to get more than 100,000 fans on the grandstands year on year. So I think it will be difficult."

Drivers React to Zandvoort's Farewell

At least for the foreseeable future, F1 fans will say farewell to Zandvoort after Sunday's Grand Prix.

Cadillac's Sergio Pérez called it "a big loss for Formula 1."

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc said he'll "miss this track for the qualifying challenge, particularly for that one lap when you put the car to the limit."

"It's proper old-school driving," said hometown hero Verstappen. "It's definitely one of the best tracks on the calendar compared to some tracks that we go to now that are, some of them, and I'm not going to name names, but they lack a bit of character. It's definitely going to be missed."