Verstappen returns home to adoring fans: What you should know about the Dutch GP

Max Verstappen returns home this weekend for the Dutch Grand Prix. The race returned in 2021 and the Red Bull driver took the victory in front of his adoring fans. It was a sea of orange as flumes of smoke covered the track, and it was a worthy return for a race that's been absent for almost four decades.

The Circuit Zandvoort was built in 1948, but it didn't host an F1 race until 1952 - two years after the championship's inception. Following upgrades to get it ready for inclusion on last year's calendar, the lap distance is 4.259km, covering a race distance of 306.587km over 72 laps.

The course consists of 14 turns and two DRS zones. The first is between Turns 10 and 11, and the second between Turns 14 and 1.

Though Verstappen won there last year, it was Mercedes-AMG's Lewis Hamilton who set the fastest lap record: 1:11.097.

Stay up to speed on the latest Formula 1 news by subscribing to our FREE newsletter, 'The Undercut'

Dutch GP history

The Zandvoort Circuit is situated a stone's throw from the North Sea. The original track snakes through the sandy environment found in Zandvoort, with Sammy Davis, the 1927 Le Mans winner, assisting with the original 4.2km track's layout.

When the race was introduced to F1 in 1952, Alberto Ascari took victory for Ferrari, with teammates Emilio Farina and Luigi Villoresi completing the podium. The Dutch GP would feature on the F1 calendar on an on-off basis, but its last running wouldn't be until 1985.

In 2019, F1 announced that the race would return in 2020, bringing about a raft of changes to prepare it for modern-day F1 requirements. However, Covid-19 prevented the race from taking place in 2020, but it made the cut in 2021 - ending a 36-year drought. In total, the country hosted 31 Grands