Video: First look at Zandvoort’s changes for 2020 including two banked corners

2020 F1 season

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The architects behind the changes to Zandvoort have revealed a video showing their plans for the circuit ahead of its return in the 2020 F1 season.

As RaceFans revealed in June, the biggest changes to the track are at the Hugenholtz (turn three) and Arie Luyendijk (turn 13) corners, which will be steeply banked.

The rest of the track’s 4.3-kilometre configuration will be largely unchanged. Dromo owner Jarno Zaffelli told RaceFans they intend to retain the circuit’s gravel traps following a request from Formula 1 Management.

Pirelli’s head of F1 and car racing Mario Isola said they will have to increase the minimum tyres pressures by “a few psi” at Zandvoort to cope with the stresses induced by the banked corners.

“The only thing we can do is to react with the pressure,” he explained. “We have to increase the starting pressure because obviously if you look at the regulations we are obliged to stay on the same construction, same specification, for all the year.

“So we cannot design a tyre for banking, we cannot design a specific construction for Zandvoort. The only possibility is to try to manage the prescriptions in terms of camber and pressure.”

He added Pirelli have been in touch with Dromo to understand the likely effect of the planned changes. “They told us about this idea to have the 18 degrees banking. It seems that it was a decision that was already taken because otherwise they had an issue: The straight is not very long and they have an issue with the DRS period. So we will adapt our prescription based on the calculation.”

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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37 comments on “Video: First look at Zandvoort’s changes for 2020 including two banked corners”

  1. Michelin HATES this simple trick!

    1. Who would win. One 22 billion dollar company or one small banked corner?

  2. Who knows of it will produce good racing, but…it does look like it may show the cars at their best. Changing directions at high speed in flowing organic shapes.

    This sort of the opposite of Yas…where the cars look slow, dull, and impotent. Some of that is due to the long camera angles but I digress. See also Paul Ricard.

    1. It will not.

      1. @dallein But what if it will?

    2. A bit like Brasil, just with a few less straights. Except it’s at sea level. I think more suits Ferrari and RB-H than Mercedes.

  3. Who knows if it will produce good racing, but…it does look like it may show the cars at their best. Changing directions at high speed in flowing organic shapes.

    This sort of the opposite of Yas…where the cars look slow, dull, and impotent. Some of that is due to the long camera angles but I digress. See also Paul Ricard.

    1. I like the flow too, a lot. Silverstone like. I especially like the first corners, an almost rollercoaster feel.
      The track does seem narrow but more (apparent) overtaking points than I thought there might be. It really depends on how the circuit synchs with the 2021-spec cars. Next year will be a limited test run for that.

      1. Racecar is racecar backwards
        2nd December 2019, 23:04

        The old part of the track (first half) is pretty narrow then it suddenly gets a bit wider for the new part (second half). Thought they might widen the first half when doing this work, but looks like they are just banking those two corners. Can’t complain though, it could have been wrecked with runoffs and square corners had it been Tilke.

        1. Yes, that’s the impression I got, they maintained the character of the first section even though it meant a narrower track. It looks pretty exciting to be honest, looking forward to it next season.

  4. Avg speed 400kph!

  5. Circuit not suited for modern F1 cars and tyres, covered in snow.

    On screens and Netflix in 2020.

    1. your snow obsession is back ;)
      No snow there in may. Never was and never will be.
      Nice flowing track. Looks interesting.

      1. Dutchguy (@justarandomdutchguy)
        2nd December 2019, 16:29

        Can confirm.
        As a certified Dutchman, we rarely have more than a few days of snow A YEAR, with these days almost solely falling between late December and Februari.
        My birthday is the 15th of April, and half of the time it’s warm enough (for us) sit in the sun in the garden. and the race is in May. There might be a chance of rain but chance of snow is 0%

        1. And in at the sea too @justarandomdutchguy – not the place for long term snow in the Netherlands (Dutch as well, from Amsterdam; born end of December, and only in my earliest years did we really have regular snow around that time, let alone end of March!)

    2. @dallein Dude do you really know nothing of climate?? Zandvoort is next to the freaking sea .. it’s pretty much the place with the least snow in The Netherlands and especially in May there is zero change of snow! We all know you hate Zandvoort by now but i think it is a real cool track especially Scheivak where the drivers need to have big balls! It’s an old school track designed by Hugenholz who also designed Suzuka. There is gravel everywhere so if you make a mistake you are out!

  6. This is a fantastic track, but f1 cars are too fast for it, there will be little to no overtaking here.

  7. I really don’t like how the addition of the banking at the final corner seems to be done purely to extend the DRS zone.

    Altering the circuit to be able to use an artificial gimmick that will hopefully not even be around beyond next year isn’t something that circuits should be doing IMO.

    1. @gt-racer But that’s it. The DRS-zone couldn’t start any earlier than the exit of the corner, given how steeply it curves and its high-speed nature, which combined with DRS isn’t a workable mix.

    2. @gt-racer Yeah but look at it this way :it may have been done for the wrong reason but it might end up being a good thing even when drs is hopefully gone never to return. Firstly because cars can go side by side in a banked corner and secondly they will exit on to the front straight faster so the slipstream time will bs longer and finally the top speed might be potentially higher as well which will marginally increase the braking distance to Tarzan

    3. Then look at it this way: now is the best opportunity to change turn 13! It’s only fitting they made the Luyendijk a banked corner…
      ;-)

    4. Agreed.
      If there was room for a straight that long, would they have left it.? Likely not.

  8. The DRS-zone on the S/F straight will have to start at the end of the last corner at the very earliest, any earlier than that wouldn’t be worth it since DRS and high-speed/flat out-corners don’t mix/go well together.

  9. Very bankie. Not good for overtakes into the corner it will be too easy to “hook” into for the leading car. But then a gain will be good for drafting down the straight.

  10. This will no doubt be a great event because of the legions of orange clad members of the cult o’ Max Verstappen who will no doubt turn up all weekend and I’m glad that a historic track has reappeared on the calendar BUT that layout does not look conducive to good racing. Qualifying will no doubt be the highlight of the weekend.

    I will happy purchase a hat to eat if I’m provide to be wrong though…

  11. Still think it’ll be crap for racing, but I hope I’m wrong.

    1. The track will still be on the calender after the regulation changes. Who knows, those might actually have a positive impact on cars following each other. The track could be a winner by then

    2. Hopefully the fia/fom use their imagination for once and add in the drs zones in between the corners instead

  12. I think it’ll be quite difficult to overtake, but people will make mistakes, which will spice up the racing. I think it’ll be like Suzuka – great atmosphere and mesmerising to watch a car go round, even if the racing is mediocre.

    1. It’s ironic that you are comparing it to Suzuka (not on purpose I guess?) as Zandvoort and Suzuka were originally designed by the same architect, John Hugenholtz.

  13. hungary should be dull on paper too but more often than not it produces a good race. Because it’s a tricky little track with not much room.

    I have high hopes for Zandvoort. I rather have a twisty track close to barriers, grass ans gravel than a parking lot full of straights and harpins, and “overtaking possiblities”

  14. 1 million people registered for tickets. I wonder how many registered for Vietnam?

    If only they would stop running races in places where there is no proper engagement with Motorsport. There should be no excuse for an empty grandstand on race day. Just look at Melbourne, Silverstone etc. I’m all for creating new heritage, sure, but having a race in a place simply as a tourism draw-card or worse, pompous self-aggrandizing, is nowhere near as beneficial to F1 as real demand to engage.

    If Max wins it’s going to be crazier than a Ferrari win at Monza.

  15. Using track layout to allow cars to follow eachother more closely? Seems like a crazy idea.. /heavy irony

  16. Does the banking there aim to allow overtaking on that section? Is it possible that F1 cars could take different lines through there, high/low as in Nascar/Indy and make passes on those two banked sections?

  17. Looks like a circuit made for DRS overtakes sadly. Hugh speed corners and not much else.

    Hopefully it’s a good race to watch regardless!

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