Netherlands

Zandvoort's Dunes and a Winter Stamppot

The Dutch Grand Prix has always belonged to Zandvoort, Max Verstappen made the Netherlands a title winning nation, and the kitchen runs on dairy, fish and comfort.

Zandvoort has hosted every Dutch Grand Prix of the World Championship era. The race first counted toward the title in 1952 and was a regular fixture until 1985. After a long absence it returned in 2021, and our records now count 36 championship editions from 1952 to 2026, lately run in late August or early September.

For most of that history Dutch drivers were dependable rather than dominant. Jos Verstappen made 106 starts between 1994 and 2003, and Carel Godin de Beaufort, Jan Lammers and Christijan Albers all raced for years. Then Max Verstappen rewrote the scale entirely, with four straight titles from 2021 to 2024 and 71 Grands Prix in our records. Spyker F1 gave the country a team of its own, racing as Spyker in 2006 and 2007.

Dutch cooking grew from a wet, flat delta, which explains the fishing boats, the dairy herds and the famous butter and cheese. Each region has its own leanings: sausages and dense rye bread in the northeast, smoked eel, herring and mussels in the west, and stews, fruit and pastry in the south. Trade with Indonesia in the colonial era left a lasting mark, from satay and sambal to the many small dishes of a rijsttafel.

Daily eating has its own customs: bread with sweet toppings such as hagelslag at breakfast, coffee with a slice of apple pie, and a drink in the early evening with fried bitterballen and mustard. Winter dinners often mean stamppot, potatoes boiled and mashed together with vegetables, smoked sausage alongside, a dish built to warm people after long days of work in the cold. Zandvoort races at the end of summer, so the kale can wait for autumn and a plate of pancakes can take its place, a substitution few will protest.

A taste of Netherlands

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