Zandvoort’s iconic steep corners served as inspiration for Madrid’s new Formula 1 circuit — with its designer, Jarno Zaffelli, admitting he aimed to push the concept even further.

Both the new Madrid Ring and Zandvoort — host of this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix — share a common link in Zaffelli and his firm, Studio Dromo. He led the acclaimed renovation of Zandvoort ahead of its 2021 F1 return, including the introduction of dramatically banked corners that quickly became a defining feature of the track.”

“For us as a company, Zandvoort was truly the highlight,” Zaffelli told De Telegraaf. “At many circuits you have to make compromises and adapt your initial ideas. That wasn’t the case at Zandvoort – we mainly had to consider environmental requirements.”

Asked about his new Madring project for Spain’s capital from 2026, Zaffelli admitted: “Yes, we wanted to go even more extreme in Madrid, but unfortunately that turned out to be impossible.

“But it’s clear that Zandvoort has been an eye-opener. I think it will eventually be possible to design something steeper than what we see in Zandvoort, but that will probably take a few years.”