Carlos Sainz believes Formula 1 must make an effort to preserve iconic circuits like Zandvoort as the sport increasingly prioritises financial incentives and non-European global markets.
The announcement that 2026 will mark the final Dutch GP due to financial challenges was quickly followed by news of an extended annual deal with the Chinese GP in Shanghai through 2030. For Ferrari driver Sainz, this highlights a growing trend of F1 moving away from its European heritage.
"Probably for economic and obviously political reasons," the Spaniard said.
Sainz suggested a more balanced calendar, with a reduced race count and a significant portion of events in Europe.
"A 20-race calendar with six or eight of them still in Europe would be my ideal schedule because that's where the sport comes from," he said.
He called on Formula 1 to find ways to keep historic tracks on the calendar, even if they can't match the financial might of newer venues.
"Even if these old school circuits, European circuits, don't have the big budgets of the ones outside of Europe, we should still find a way to give them the opportunity to keep coming back to the calendar now and then," Sainz added.
McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri echoed Sainz's sentiment, warning against losing the circuits that define the sport's history.
"I think we need to be careful as a sport not to get rid of all the tracks that we all grew up racing on and loving," said the Australian. "If you ask most of the drivers on the grid, their favourite track—maybe apart from Suzuka—is probably guaranteed to be in Europe somewhere.
"We need to be wary as a sport that a lot of the tracks that will disappear from the calendar are probably the ones that we all love a lot."
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton also weighed in, noting that Formula 1 has gravitated toward markets with deeper pockets rather than preserving its heritage.
"There are several races in the calendar—I'm not going to mention which ones, but you know which ones—which don't have a lot of people that come, yet financially they can obviously cover whatever the cost is," Hamilton said.
"The business is doing very, very well, but we've got to make sure we hold on to the heritage races, and Zandvoort, for me, is one of those."
Lando Norris, another driver fond of Zandvoort, shared his admiration for the Dutch circuit.
"I always enjoy Zandvoort, even though all the fans cheer for Max (Verstappen)," the McLaren driver said. "The atmosphere is always great, there is a lot of hustle and bustle, it's loud.
"It is definitely higher on my list than many other tracks."
