Max Verstappen’s home Dutch GP out of F1 calendar after 2026

FILE – Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands leads the field after the start of the Formula One Dutch Grand Prix race at the Zandvoort racetrack, Netherlands, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)

ZANDVOORT, Netherlands — World champion Max Verstappen’s home Grand Prix will only be on the Formula 1 calendar for two more years after it was announced Wednesday that 2026 will be the last edition.

F1 said it granted a one-year contract extension for the 2026 race but it was the local promoter’s decision not to continue after that.

Dutch Grand Prix director Robert van Overdijk said it would be “the end of a monumental era.”

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The beachside track at Zandvoort has been known for its passionate orange-clad fans cheering on Verstappen. He won the first three editions of the race after it returned to the F1 calendar in 2021 for the first time since 1985. Lando Norris won this year.

“We are a privately owned and operated business, and we must balance the opportunities presented by continuing to host the event, against other risks and responsibilities,” van Overdijk said in a joint statement with F1. “We have decided to go out on a high with two more incredible Dutch Grands Prix in 2025 and 2026.”

F1 said the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix will also feature a sprint race.

F1 president and chief executive Stefano Domenicali said Dutch organizers were offered the option of hosting a race in alternate years, but “we respect the decision from the promoter to finish its amazing run in 2026.”