Which F1 drivers do well at Dutch Grand Prix with Max Verstappen successful at Zandvoort

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Formula 1 has staged the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort since 1952 and has watched eight drivers claim repeat wins, so F1 Oversteer looks into its most successful drivers.

One of the most successful drivers at the Dutch Grand Prix is even Max Verstappen, with the home hero dominating the race since Formula 1 returned to Zandvoort in 2021. The track by the North Sea had not staged a race in the pinnacle of motorsport for 36 years by that point.

Formula 1 stayed away from Zandvoort after the 1985 running due to safety concerns with it one of the most dangerous tracks on the calendar. Budgetary issues also forced the race to slip off the schedule sporadically between making its debut in 1952 and the 1985 edition.

Jim Clark is the most successful F1 driver at the Dutch Grand Prix

The Dutch GP becoming an established part of the Formula 1 calendar during the 1960s also helped to see Jim Clark become the most successful driver at the race. A five-year stretch in the middle of the decade delivered four victories for the Briton at the sand dune-lined track.

Clark recorded his first Dutch Grand Prix win driving for Lotus in 1963 en route to that term’s drivers’ title. It was also his first championship, as the Scot dominated the season with seven wins from 10 races. But few of those wins were as dominant as Clark’s first Dutch GP victory.

READ MORE: Five unforgettable Dutch Grand Prix including Prost and Piquet’s drama

After taking pole position by six-tenths of a second to BRM driver Graham Hill, the Dutch GP saw Clark run away from the field to lap every driver who finished the 1963 running. Clark’s victory in 1964 also nearly saw the Briton repeat it by lapping every driver bar second place.

Only John Surtees of Ferrari finished the 1964 Dutch GP on the lead lap but was still over 53 seconds from runaway winner, Clark. It was a much closer affair in 1965, though, but Clark’s winning streak continued as the Lotus icon held off BRM’s Jackie Stewart by eight seconds.

Jack Brabham then interrupted Clark’s streak with the second of the New Zealander’s Dutch GP wins in 1966. But it was a short-lived interruption as Clark returned to Zandvoort in 1967 and returned to the top step of the podium by taking another Dutch GP win by 23 seconds.

The Dutch GP has seen eight repeat winners as a Formula 1 race

Clark was the second driver with repeat wins at the Dutch Grand Prix en route to becoming the most successful Formula 1 pilot at Zandvoort. Alberto Ascari was the first driver to take to the top step of the Zandvoort podium multiple times over the first two Dutch Grand Prix.

Ascari won the first two runnings of the race in 1952 and 1953 whilst driving for Ferrari and took pole position both times. The Italian even remains one of only five drivers to win back-to-back trips to Zandvoort, with Clark and Verstappen the sole drivers to win three in a row.

Verstappen has dominated the Dutch Grand Prix since Formula 1 returned to Zandvoort for the 2021 season. The home hero won from pole position driving for Red Bull at each of the first three visits back to the circuit. He also recorded a hat-trick in 2022 with the fastest lap.