This weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix marks a milestone for Pirelli in Formula 1, as the race will be the five hundredth round in which the Italian marque has been officially present. Pirelli’s history with the top-flight motorsport series dates back to 13 May 1950 and the British Grand Prix, which was also the very first world championship event.
That day at Silverstone, four Alfa Romeo and four Maserati cars competed on Pirelli tyres and the race winner Giuseppe Farina, followed home by Luigi Fagioli and Red Parnell, all driving Alfas, gave the Italian tyres a clean sweep of the podium places. Since then, Pirelli has been present at 499 events, split between three eras: from 1950 to 1958, from 1981 to 1991 (although not in 1987 and 1988) and, from 2011 onwards. Pirelli currently serves as the FIA Formula 1 World Championship’s Global Tyre Partner.
Celebrations will take place at the Zandvoort before continuing the following weekend when Monza hosts the Italian Grand Prix, of which Pirelli is the Title Sponsor. In the Netherlands, all cars and every slick tyre will carry a special 500 GP logo, as revealed in February at the celebrations marking 75 years of Formula 1. In Monza, team personnel and drivers will join senior management from F1, the FIA and Pirelli for a celebratory photo a few hours before the race start.
Racing at Zandvoort since 1952
This weekend’s race will be the 35th Dutch Grand Prix to count towards the FIA Formula 1 World Championship. Since first hosting an F1 round in 1952, the Dutch Grand Prix has always run at Zandvoort. The current track layout debuted in 2021, when the race returned to the calendar for the first time since 1985.
Jim Clark is the driver with the most F1 wins at the Zandvoort circuit, with four victories, all in a Lotus. Behind him are three other world champions with three victories apiece: Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda and Max Verstappen. The Dutchman leads the way when it comes to pole positions with three, joint equal with René Arnoux, while Clark and Lauda head the list for podium finishes with six each. Ferrari is the most successful team with eight wins, ahead of Lotus on six and McLaren on four, the latter winning here last year courtesy of Lando Norris. On eight, Lotus has the most poles, followed by Ferrari on seven, these positions reversed when it comes to podium finishes, Ferrari on 26, Lotus on 16.
Dutch Grand Prix 2025
For this weekend’s race in the Netherlands, Pirelli has taken compounds a step softer compared with last year. Teams will have a choice of the C2 as Hard, the C3 as Medium and the C4 as Soft, whereas in 2024 the available compounds were C1, C2 and C3. The aim of this decision, taken in conjunction with the FIA and the championship promoter, is to increase the likelihood of a strategy based on two stops, rather than just the single stop that has been the predominant choice since this race returned to the calendar in 2022.
A further step in this direction stems from the FIA’s decision to increase the pit lane speed limit from 60 to 80 km/h, thus reducing the time taken for a pit stop. According to simulations provided by the teams, the one-stop is still quickest, partly because overtaking is notoriously difficult at the narrow Zandvoort circuit, which has very few straights apart from the main one.
