Max Verstappen started the Abu Dhabi GP weekend on a bitter note with the war of words with George Russell on Friday. In a pleasant turn of events, Saturday was a lot more light-hearted for two major reasons. Firstly, he shared the news of his girlfriend Kelly Piquet’s pregnancy. And secondly, he was in a friendlier mood and shared some banter with Lando Norris.
Earlier this week, the Dutch F1 fans came across a bittersweet news. The sweeter part was the promoters of the Dutch GP renewing their contract with F1 for one more year, which would see them on the calendar in 2025 and 2026. The sad part of the news was the announcement of the 2026 iteration of the race being the last.
Verstappen, being the only Dutch driver on the grid, enjoys great support from his countrymen during the annual race. Naturally, he would want to see it continue being a part of the F1 calendar at least until he bids goodbye to the sport. While the promoters aren’t interested in making that happen, Norris has suggested Verstappen should.
Speaking with the media on Saturday, he joked, “To be honest, Max earns enough money. He should pay for it himself if he wants a home race. He should do it out of his own pocket.”
GP Blog later got a hold of Verstappen and asked for his reaction to Norris’ comment. The Dutchman said, “I do [have 20M euros] but I’m not going to spend it on the race.”
lando told the media jokingly: “to be honest, max earns enough money. he should pay for it himself if he wants a home race; he should do it out of his own pocket.”
max told GPblog: “i do [have 20M euros] but i’m not going to spend it on the race,”
— nini (@SCUDERIAFEMBOY) December 5, 2024
After its last race in F1 in 1985, Zandvoort returned to the calendar in 2021. Since then, Verstappen emerged victorious thrice on his home soil. The one who broke his streak earlier this year was Norris.
What led to the end of the Dutch GP?
The reason for Zandvoort opting out of F1 is the financial sustainability of the race. While it attracts big hordes of passionate supporters, the race hasn’t made much money. Another factor contributing to its exit is the location of the circuit.
Being on the outskirts of Amsterdam, getting to the track is tough. While the organizers arranged for public transport to alleviate this problem and also to further F1’s efforts for sustainability, the move hasn’t made much difference.
In his parting note for the race, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said, “[The Dutch GP has] supported the development of young talent by hosting Formula 2, Formula 3 and our Formula 1 Academy series, and have also pioneered sustainable solutions that have inspired our events around the world as we drive towards being net zero by 2030.”
