Jos Verstappen made it’s debut in 1994 in the Formula One, after showing pure speed during his test for Footwork and McLaren. Eight years later Jos Verstappen had still the speed, though due to bad decisions making he was not on the hotlist anymore for many teams. It seemed the Honda project would finally give him the opportunity to race for a competitive team. Sadly, the project was canned after
Since the start of the Formula One in 1950 we had 17 Dutch drivers in the Formula One. The most successfully Max Verstappen and his father Jos Verstappen. However, there could have been much more Dutch drivers in the Formula One. Actually there was one Herman Roosdorp who retired after the free practice of the 1951 Dutch Grand Prix. So who were the other once that were to race in
With Max Verstappen dominating the Formula One like Michael Schumacher the Formula One is booming in the Netherlands. You would almost forget that there was a time that the Dutch drivers in the Formula One were more a footnote. Who remembers Giedo van der Garde’s drive with the Caterham in 2013 for example? Though during the second Dutch Grand Prix, which was a non-championship race, there was a Dutch Driver
After the 1995 Monaco Grand Prix Simtek went into bankruptcy due to the financial situation of the team. In the aftermath Jos Verstappen lost his seat on the grid as well. Rumours went that Verstappen was in talks with Ligier, McLaren, Sauber and Footwork for a seat in 1996. Eventually Verstappen signed for Footwork Hart. What many forgot is that there was another Dutch driver in the scope for a
Racing For Holland is well known for it’s involvement in the 24Hours of LeMans where it drove around in the Dome checkered layout. As well the team was active in the FIA Sportscar Challenge and the A1GP series. The team was founded by Jan Lammers who himself drove around in many series as well in the Formula One for several years. Since the early days of the teams existing the
Only a week left and the engines will Vrooooam around the track at Zandvoort. It will be the 37th Dutch Grand Prix that happens at the circuit laying in between the dunes of Zandvoort. The last two editions were won by Max Verstappen, and probably he will win the 38th edition as well. However, there were years that the Dutch Grand Prix was planned but cancelled due to several reasons.
History teaches us that the first auto race in the Netherlands was held the 3th of June 1939. The street circuit of Zandvoort was the host for this event. During the war construction started on the permanent, track in Zandvoort. The track was completed in 1947 and in 1948, we had our first Dutch Grand Prix. However, the first Dutch Grand Prix was scheduled for the 15th of September 1935,
Some Dutch autosport history from an era, which seems to lack any interest from the Dutch fans. An era when the Grand Prix and the Hill climb scene started to gain popularity. An era that happened after World War I became more or less a vague memory of the past when life was different. There was a lot of prospect for the autosport even in The Netherlands. However, people still
History teaches us that there was no Dutch driver in 1999 on the grid. We had Jos Verstappen who was busy with the Honda project. Intentionally, he would become one of their drivers. Sadly, the program was cancelled. Tom Coronel was busy racing in Japan and would only test with the Arrows A20 in December 1999. However, another Dutch driver came “close” to appear on the grid in 1999. His
