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Jos Vaessen, the chairman of The Dutch Grand Prix Foundation, thinks there is room in the future for a second Grand Prix in the Netherlands in Assen. Vaessen therefore plans to contact Formula One Management (FOM) after the race in Zandvoort.
The Netherlands had to wait more than 36 years for it, but this week Formula 1 has finally returned to our little country. A wonderful moment for both Dutch racing enthusiasts and for Max Verstappen. But if it’s up to The Dutch Grand Prix Foundation, it doesn’t stop there. The organization is looking for a second race in the Netherlands. “One race in the spring and one race in the autumn”, Vaessen suggests at the Newspaper of the North. “We get a lot of questions from the motorsport world about why Assen is not getting a Formula 1 race. From former drivers and also from the circle of FOM.”
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In the past, FOM did not want one country to organize two different Grands Prix, but they let go of that principle a bit two years ago. Of course, they didn’t really have any other choice, given the challenges created by the coronavirus. Vaessen mentions that Austria and Italy are on the calendar several times this year. “In Austria, even twice in a row on the same circuit, the drivers and their teams don’t like that,” says Vaessen. “Why not Assen as an alternative, we often hear in the racing world. The success of Max Verstappen has given Formula 1 in our country a huge boost and the Netherlands has the best supporters.”
Contact with the FOM
Vaessen plans to open after the Dutch Grand Prix to contact the FOM, which is stationed in the British capital London. “We have expressed our ideas and do not pay much attention to them for Zandvoort. That seems so neat to me. We have a Formula 1 race in the Netherlands for the first time in 36 years and we are going to enjoy it.” According to The Dutch Grand Prix Foundation, it should be possible to hold a second race in Assen in the spring or autumn of 2023. Whether the FOM will agree with this, however, remains to be seen.
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