"Suitable for F1": Could Assen be an Alternative for the Dutch GP?
Jun.30 - Assen, a circuit on the MotoGP calendar, has played down hopes it might keep Formula 1 in the Netherlands.
Max Verstappen recently unveiled a special helmet livery for what he considers his three 'home' grands prix - starting with Austria, with the race at the Red Bull Ring promoted by the Austrian energy drink brand.
On Sunday, in the presence of founder Dietrich Mateschitz's son and heir Mark, Formula 1 announced that the event is staying on the calendar until 2041 at least.
Mateschitz, 33, declared that he is "proud to continue my father's path" - even though Sunday itself was marred by Max Verstappen's lap 1 DNF and the alarming pre-race collapse of an advertising bridge.
Also at the circuit - and on the podium - on Sunday was former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone.
"I'm proud that the race has proven itself in Styria," the 94-year-old said. "It should be held here as long as Formula 1 exists.
"This grand prix belongs to Formula 1. I have only good memories here and no bad ones."
Verstappen will also wear his special 'home' helmet at Belgium's Spa - held in the country of his birth - and of course Zandvoort.
The popular Dutch F1 GP at Zandvoort, however, is bowing out of the F1 schedule after the 2026 edition.
Some are holding out hope that F1 might want to retain a Dutch F1 GP on the calendar while 27-year-old Verstappen is still racing, and an obvious alternative venue would be Assen.
Circuit chairman Arjen Bos doesn't completely rule it out.
"We are suitable for Formula 1," he told NPO Radio 1.
"In that respect, it is certainly realistic that there could be a race in Assen. There is just no concrete offer on the table yet and I don't know if Formula 1 is interested in a race in the Netherlands.
"If they want to race here, then we are ready for it."
Austria may just have sealed its long-term F1 future, but Bos insists that other European hosts will not be so lucky.
"If races have to be dropped, Western Europe will be the first to go," he said. "The sport is becoming increasingly global and that is why I think the chances for us are small.
"But if an opportunity arises, we will certainly seize it."
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The track may be 'suitable' for F1 per se, but holding the Dutch is otherwise unrealistic on more or less all counts, so I'm happy Arjen Bos is also realistic about the realities.
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