What Zandvoort officials have said about sharing race hosting duties with Spa

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The Formula 1 calendar has expanded a lot since the arrival of Liberty Media, with a record 24 races in a season taking place in 2024.

This is because China finally returned to the calendar after its four-year absence, while the race in Imola also returned after it was cancelled last year due to floods in the Emilia Romagna region.

There is talk over what the future holds for the F1 calendar given there is not an appetite to expand beyond 24 races, while the addition of six Sprint races also inherently means more races on the calendar.

One of the rumours is that Zandvoort could become an alternate venue alongside another race, potentially with the Belgian Grand Prix.

Speaking on the Autosport podcast, Ronald Vording revealed what he was told by Zandvoort organisers when he told them about the rumours.

Zandvoort organisers respond to Spa alternate rumours

Zandvoort returned to the calendar in 2021 and has been a popular venue thanks largely to the success of Max Verstappen, although F1 fans also cheer on three other drivers during the Dutch GP.

Vording mentioned the potential for a calendar rotation to Zandvoort’s organisers, who gave an interesting response.

“There was already some media coverage in the Netherlands that alternating Spa and Zandvoort could be a done deal,” said Vording

“I texted some people from the Zandvoort organisation and they replied ‘I do not recognise a single word from that story’ so I think that the truth is somewhere in the middle and Formula 1 management is looking at that option. But then Zandvoort has to get its business case financially stable for the long term.”

Zandvoort still popular due to Max Verstappen factor

Growth has been the goal of the F1 calendar with CEO Stefano Domenicali previously speaking about his desire to see races in new markets.

However, as the current races in Europe experience high popularity it is hard to see why they would want to axe them.

READ MORE: The most successful F1 drivers at the Dutch Grand Prix of all time at Zandvoort

Zandvoort is expected to see over 250,000 fans across this weekend’s Dutch GP, having last year became the third-best attended race on the calendar with 288,218 fans overall.

Despite the popularity and it’s current contract is due to run until the 2025 season, Zandvoort circuit director Robert van Overdijk confirmed that the track risks falling off the busy F1 schedule.