{"id":849302,"date":"2026-08-07T10:42:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T10:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/849302\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T10:42:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T10:42:09","slug":"f1-news-verstappen-urges-dutch-government-to-back-f1-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/849302\/","title":{"rendered":"F1 News: Verstappen urges Dutch government to back F1 return"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>(GMM) Max Verstappen (pictured) has urged the Dutch government to do more to protect the future of motorsport as Formula 1 prepares to leave Zandvoort after this month\u2019s final Dutch GP.<\/p>\n<p>The race returned in 2021 amid Verstappen\u2019s enormous popularity, with Bernie Ecclestone this week saying it would never have happened without the four-time world champion.<\/p>\n<p>Related Article:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.autoracing1.com\/pl\/500213\/formula-1-news-prince-sells-zandvoort-stake-before-final-dutch-gp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Formula 1 News: Prince sells Zandvoort stake before final Dutch GP<\/a><\/p>\n<p>But Verstappen says sustaining Dutch motorsport after Formula 1 leaves will require more than his own profile.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s not in my hands,\u201d he told the Dutch magazine <a href=\"https:\/\/www.formule1.nl\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Formule 1<\/a> when asked how motorsport can remain popular in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe popularity mainly depends on the talent that is coming and hopefully someone will make it to Formula 1. Because that creates the biggest hype.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCoincidence always plays a role. Also look at Germany in the past. And hopefully the government will pick up the gauntlet too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Related Article:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.autoracing1.com\/pl\/500616\/formula-1-news-without-verstappen-dutch-gp-would-have-never-happened-ecclestone\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Formula 1 News: Without Verstappen Dutch GP would have never happened \u2013 Ecclestone<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Verstappen believes government support can make the difference.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSupport is important at certain times. At least everyone has been able to see what motorsport can do,\u201d said the 28-year-old.<\/p>\n<p>However, he pointed to Germany as a warning, with its strong automotive heritage and Schumacher-inspired hype \u2013 but no current Formula 1 race.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEverything has to be very green, but at the same time that is the land of the big manufacturers,\u201d said Verstappen, referring to Germany.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s a split. \u201cFortunately, they still have beautiful races there, such as the Nurburgring 24 Hours, but that kind of event is also difficult to organize.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Verstappen said Spain offers a better example of how public support can help young talent develop.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn Spain, for example, we see how it can be done, how much support there is for motorcycle drivers and circuits,\u201d he said. \u201cIf a country really wants to, you can create the opportunities for talents to develop and mature.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(GMM) Max Verstappen (pictured) has urged the Dutch government to do more to protect the future of motorsport&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":849303,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[49,48,578,576,577,82],"class_list":["post-849302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=849302"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849302\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/849303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=849302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=849302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=849302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}