{"id":995,"date":"2026-08-20T13:58:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T16:58:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/?p=995"},"modified":"2026-08-20T13:58:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T16:58:50","slug":"oscar-piastri-praises-layout-and-laments-zandvoorts-f1-departure-we-will-miss-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/oscar-piastri-praises-layout-and-laments-zandvoorts-f1-departure-we-will-miss-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Piastri praises layout and laments Zandvoort&#8217;s F1 departure: &#8220;We will miss it&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key takeaways<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Regret over calendar exit:<\/strong> Oscar Piastri lamented Zandvoort&#8217;s upcoming departure from the <a href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Formula 1<\/a> calendar after 2026, stating that drivers prefer historic, classic venues over newly added street circuits.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Layout praise:<\/strong> While acknowledging the circuit&#8217;s logistical challenges and narrow layout, Piastri named Zandvoort one of the best tracks to drive all year.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Hungaroring similarities:<\/strong> The McLaren driver highlighted characteristics shared between Zandvoort and the Hungaroring, hoping his team can replicate the strong performance that saw Lando Norris win in Hungary.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Oscar Piastri expressed regret over Zandvoort dropping off the Formula 1 calendar after 2026, emphasizing the drivers&#8217; clear preference for historic circuits. According to the Australian, the Dutch track ranks among the most enjoyable to drive all year, even if it does not always produce the most action-packed racing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking to reporters in a media session attended by <strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/\">GRANDE PR\u00caMIO<\/a><\/strong> in Zandvoort, the McLaren driver noted that traditional layouts generally offer a better driving experience, pointing to a collective preference for historic venues over newer additions to the championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;It&#8217;ll be a shame to see this track go off the calendar because it&#8217;s one of the best layouts we have to drive on all year. Maybe not the most exciting race, and even logistically, it&#8217;s pretty small for F1. Still, there&#8217;s obviously a balance to be found. There are so many different countries that want to host an F1 race. For us as drivers, all the historic circuits are probably the most enjoyable to race on,&#8221; he stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;There have been some good new additions to the calendar, but generally, the older circuits are the ones we like the most. If we&#8217;re going to replace this place with Imola or Spa in the future, then I&#8217;ll be quite happy. But if it&#8217;s for potentially another street circuit that might not be ideal, then there&#8217;s a sweet spot to be found. Without a doubt we&#8217;ll miss it, because it&#8217;s a great place to drive,&#8221; Piastri emphasized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"754\" src=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/background-the-circuit-1200x754.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1001044923\" srcset=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/background-the-circuit-1200x754.png 1200w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/background-the-circuit-300x188.png 300w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/background-the-circuit-768x482.png 768w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/background-the-circuit-1536x965.png 1536w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/background-the-circuit-150x94.png 150w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/background-the-circuit.png 1680w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Zandvoort bids farewell to the Formula 1 calendar in 2026 (Photo: Circuit Zandvoort)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Following <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/andrea-kimi-antonelli-singles-out-competitive-mclaren-as-mercedes-main-rival-in-zandvoort\/\">Andrea Kimi Antonelli&#8217;s assessment that McLaren will be Mercedes&#8217; main rival<\/a> at Zandvoort, Piastri also pointed out similarities between the Dutch venue and the Hungaroring, where McLaren delivered a competitive outing before the break. The Australian hopes the track&#8217;s features will allow the team to fight at the front once again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;This circuit this weekend is similar in many ways to Hungary, in terms of corner speeds and their nature. So hopefully that will be good news for us. We also have a few new parts this weekend, but I&#8217;m sure other teams will have updates too, whether this weekend or in the coming weeks. Hungary was a pleasant surprise in terms of how competitive we were, so I hope we can keep that up,&#8221; he concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Formula 1 returns this weekend, from August 21 to 23, for the Dutch Grand Prix \u2014 the 12th round of the 2026 season.<sup><\/sup> <strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/\">GRANDE PR\u00caMIO<\/a><\/strong> covers all the track action live from Zandvoort with reporter Leonid Kliuev. Follow the latest paddock updates on our <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/news\/\">news page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Session schedule: Dutch Grand Prix 2026<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><td><strong>Session<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Local time (CEST)<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>UTC<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Free Practice 1<\/strong><\/td><td>Friday, August 21 \u2013 12:30<\/td><td>10:30<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Free Practice 2<\/strong><\/td><td>Friday, August 21 \u2013 16:00<\/td><td>14:00<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Free Practice 3<\/strong><\/td><td>Saturday, August 22 \u2013 11:30<\/td><td>09:30<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Qualifying<\/strong><\/td><td>Saturday, August 22 \u2013 15:00<\/td><td>13:00<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Race<\/strong><\/td><td>Sunday, August 23 \u2013 15:00<\/td><td>13:00<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Frequently asked questions (FAQ)<sup><\/sup><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>1. Why is Zandvoort leaving the Formula 1 calendar after 2026?<sup><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Dutch Grand Prix is reaching the end of its contract cycle after 2026, with F1 rotating and replacing venues to accommodate high commercial interest from new global host locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>2. Which track did Oscar Piastri compare Zandvoort to in terms of characteristics?<sup><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Piastri compared Zandvoort to the Hungaroring, noting that both circuits feature similar corner speeds and track flow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>3. Does McLaren have new upgrades for the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes, Oscar Piastri confirmed that McLaren introduced additional new components to their car for the Zandvoort weekend to maintain their competitive momentum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Oscar Piastri highlighted the characteristics of the Dutch circuit and revealed expectations of replicating their Hungarian GP form as Formula 1 returns from the summer break.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1020310090,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"42wp_featured_image_caption":"Oscar Piastri","42wp_featured_image_credits":"McLaren","42wp_featured_video":"","42wp_featured_image_hidden":false,"42wp_authors_list":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[10,112],"42wp_author":[59],"class_list":["post-995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-f1","tag-mclaren","tag-oscar-piastri","42wp_author-fabricio-carvalho"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=995"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/995\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":996,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/995\/revisions\/996"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1020310090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=995"},{"taxonomy":"42wp_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/42wp_author?post=995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}