According to 2020 Dutch Grand Prix spokesman Jan Lammers, a steeply banked corner will be an exciting feature of the refurbished seaside Zandvoort circuit which returns to the Formula 1 calendar for the first time since 1985.
Lammers, a former F1 driver who also won Le Mans and later went into team management, is referring to the circuit’s plans for a corner that will have an even steeper gradient than at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Zandvoort CEO Robert van Overdijk told BRN Nieuwsradio that the gradient will be 15-degrees, which is 4.5-metre in height from the bottom to the top. In comparison, the Indianapolis bankings are around 10 degrees.
Lammers told De Telegraaf newspaper it will be a unique challenge for the current F1 drivers, “How will they take that turn? Top, bottom, what is possible? It is a special and intriguing concept.”
Management is currently working on the necessary renovations, and despite recent reports to the contrary, Lammers says they are on schedule, “I am very happy with the developments at Zandvoort.
“There was resistance from various environmental groups, which can be subdivided into real opponents and opponents in principle. It is more difficult to communicate with the latter group,” he explained.
But Lammers said organisers have so far managed to fend off those challenges, “I would not be surprised if Zandvoort is the most beautiful circuit in Europe and perhaps even in the world. It’s very authentic, like Monza, Spa and Suzuka.”