The travails of Verstappen’s would-be Dutch F1 superstar predecessors
The massed ranks of orange shirts in the grandstands (plus the odd flare or 10) at European grands prix demonstrate Max Verstappen’s massive home support. But this isn’t a case of a country discovering Formula 1 overnight because of one person. As MARCUS SIMMONS explains, F1 fever has been in need of an outlet, for many years – despite the faltering support of domestic sponsors…
The Dutch flags, emblazoned with the name of the country’s motorsport hero, flew as the crowd’s favourite sped to victory around Zandvoort. There were an estimated 60,000-plus of them, putting the attendance of many grands prix to shame. But this wasn’t a GP. It wasn’t even Formula 1. It was the 1993 Marlboro Masters of Formula 3. And the flags proclaimed ‘Jos The Boss’ in honour of the young Verstappen who, they were sure, was about to take the world of F1 by storm.
The Netherlands and Zandvoort had lost their Grand Prix after the 1985 race, yet still the country retained a motorsport culture and was crying out for an F1 star.
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