- Verstappen only gets two more attempts to challenge on the favorite circuit
- The four-time world champion will close his 2024 season in Abu Dhabi this weekend
A major Formula 1 race will be scrapped from the Grand Prix calendar in what reports say could be a blow to current world champion Max Verstappen.
This season, the packed calendar grew into the largest offering ever, with no fewer than 24 races spread across five continents.
Such is the toll that constant travel around the world is taking on the Formula 1 ecosystem that – as Mail Sport reported last week – teams are increasingly turning to sleep aids in a bid to combat severe jet lag.
But despite the calendar being as full as ever, some races are still under threat of cancellation.
According to The Telegraphthe Dutch Grand Prix, held in Zandvoort, will be removed from the schedule in 2026.
The news will come as a disappointment for Verstappen, for whom it is his home race and where his journey with Red Bull is most loudly celebrated amid his meteoric rise in the sport.
The Dutch Grand Prix will be dropped from the F1 calendar just a few years after its return
The Zandvoort circuit has been the site of a number of triumphs for the country’s favorite son Max Verstappen (pictured in 2022)
Verstappen has won the race three of the last four years and only hesitated this season to hand the race victory to former title rival Lando Norris.
But regardless of his racing position, Verstappen’s compatriots and militant fans form a formidable orange wall of support, with the Dutch Grand Prix’s short time on the calendar perfectly matching the driver’s dominance.
The event was first introduced to the Formula 1 calendar in 1950, but previously went on a lengthy hiatus from 1985 after losing its racing contract.
Sport was due to return to Zandvoort in 2020, but this was postponed for a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Race director Robert van Overdijk has not yet commented on the expected cancellation of the Grand Prix, but the news will reportedly be confirmed in the coming week.
The decision will come as something of a surprise to the motorsport community, after Formula 1 boss Stefano Domenicali previously assured fans that the race would remain on the calendar beyond 2025, when the current contract expires.
But the positions of a number of races on the calendar remain in flux, including the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, which is also set until the end of 2025.
Last month, Mail Sport exclusively reported that the previously threatened Monaco Grand Prix had signed a deal to continue the iconic race until at least 2031.
A fierce ‘Orange Army’ of support has come to cheer on the four-time world champion
In a deal worth more than £150 million, the principality retained perhaps the most recognizable event in motorsport, despite persistent complaints from drivers and fans about the circuit layout.
Despite Domenicali’s desire to maintain a significant footprint in traditional locations, both he and owners Liberty Media were also keen to expand into new areas.
As Mail Sport previously reported, a race in Africa remains a target, while South Korea is keen to see the return of F1.
This season ends this weekend with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, two race weekends after Verstappen took his fourth title in a row in Las Vegas.