Haas drivers love the spectacular Zandvoort atmosphere

Haas drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen highlighted the spectacular atmosphere at the Dutch Grand Prix, praising the "Orange Army" for creating a "party" at Zandvoort.

Formula One made its return to Zandvoort in 2021, having been away from the Netherlands for over thirty years. Despite this, Haas outgoing driver, Nico Hulkenberg said that he knows the challenging circuit well as he raced here in several different categories during his junior career.

“Zandvoort is a track I have a lot of history at doing many races over my junior career there; Formula BMW, A1 Grand Prix, F3, some really good memories actually.

“It’s a very familiar place from back in the day, also because where I’m from it’s very close to the Dutch border, it’s a special feeling and race for me there. It’s a great place with a great vibe, the Dutch Orange Army is out in force, and it’s one big party.

“ It’s a short track which is very old school, narrow and short in length. It’s quite tricky to overtake. It’s quite a small track for the big modern Formula 1 cars, but it’s still fun and challenging to get it around,” noted the German.

Speaking of the challenges of Zanvoort, his team-mate Kevin Magnussen noted that the old-school nature means that it is a track where drivers can make a difference.

“The Dutch Grand Prix has a crazy atmosphere with the Orange Army, which is about 99 per cent of the fans there. It’s a very cool track for Formula 1 as it’s super old-school and it hasn’t changed much since the seventies.

“I enjoy racing at Zandvoort as it’s a driver's track, when you push there, you really are pushing the limits. I’ll be rested and ready to charge for the second half of the season.”

Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu stressed the the narrow, old-school nature of the track means that overtaking is at a premium at Zandvoort.

“Zandvoort is an interesting circuit with a lot of undulation and cambers, and the last corner is pretty interesting. Its other characteristics are that it has a mixture of low- to medium-speed corners, it’s a high-downforce circuit and overtaking is pretty difficult.

“The atmosphere in Zandvoort is very unique, it’s more like a football stadium than a Formula 1 event really, especially before the race on the grid with the music and Orange Army. It’s quite special, and very unusual if you’re only used to Formula 1 events. I enjoy going there as it’s such a unique atmosphere and I’m looking forward to getting back to racing.”