Max Verstappen has called for the Dutch government to take action and offer greater support to motorsport in the Netherlands to ensure a constant flow of talented drivers.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Motorsport in the Netherlands has reached a difficult moment after several remarkable years, with Zandvoort preparing to host the Dutch Grand Prix for the final time and Verstappen’s future remaining unclear.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Over the last decade, Verstappen has transformed motorsport in his home country, as have the successes of drivers such as Nyck de Vries in Formula E and the World Endurance Championship.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Racing has become hugely popular in the Netherlands, despite the country not previously being regarded as a major motorsport nation, even though it has produced several strong drivers.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Verstappen has played a key role in that transformation, but he also knows it is not his responsibility to ensure Dutch motorsport remains in a healthy position after he retires.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
“That\u2019s not in my hands,” Verstappen told Formule1.nl. “Popularity depends mainly on the talent coming up, and hopefully someone from that group will make it to Formula 1.\u00a0\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
“Because that\u2019s what creates the biggest buzz. Chance always plays a role. Just look at Germany in the past.”\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Germany is a prime example. It once boasted several Formula 1 drivers, a grand prix and a huge fan base. Despite German manufacturer Mercedes currently dominating the sport, the country has seen a rapid decline in interest in motorsport.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Verstappen is hopeful the Netherlands will not reach that point and that the Dutch government will work to support motorsport.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
“Hopefully, the government will also step up to the plate,” added Verstappen. “Support is important at certain times. Everyone has seen what motorsports can bring. Just look at Germany.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
“Everything has to be very green, but at the same time, it\u2019s also the home of the major automakers. That\u2019s a balancing act.\u00a0\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
“Fortunately, they still have great races there, like the 24 Hours of the N\u00fcrburgring, but even those kinds of events are already difficult to organise.”\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tSpain an example of how it can be done<\/p>\n
One country that has continued to enjoy incredible support for motorsport is Spain, which has a consistent flow of drivers in Formula 1, a grand prix and government support for both drivers and racetracks.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Verstappen recognises that it is difficult but believes that, if a country is committed to keeping motorsport at the highest level, it is possible.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s difficult to establish a structure,” he begun explaining. “Auto racing isn\u2019t like soccer. It\u2019s easier to lay down a small grass field than to build a racetrack.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
“Money, of course, plays a huge role. In Spain, for example, we see how it can be done\u2014how much support there is there for racers and racetracks.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
“Of course, they have more space and opportunities there, but there\u2019s also simply more attention and priority given to it. And you see that in many Olympic sports as well.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
“If a country is truly committed, it can create the opportunities for talented athletes to develop and reach their full potential.”\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Max Verstappen has called for the Dutch government to take action and offer greater support to motorsport in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":842200,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[64,63,827,830,828,831,829,826,813,823,825,806,805,824,803,804,822,85],"class_list":["post-845852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-daniel-ricciardo","tag-f1-calendar","tag-f1-live","tag-f1-results","tag-f1-standings","tag-ferrari","tag-formula-1","tag-lewis-hamilton","tag-max-verstappen","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motorsport","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-racing","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=845852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845852\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/842200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=845852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=845852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=845852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}