Max Verstappen hopes for government support for motorsport.

      After the summer break, the Dutch Grand Prix will take place for the last time at the Zandvoort racetrack, and when the country stops hosting Formula 1 races, it will be yet another factor negatively impacting the popularity of motorsport, including at the national level. Max Verstappen believes that the Dutch government should somehow intervene in the situation and support the Dutch racing community. The period when motorsport was thriving in the Netherlands is now in the past. At one time, this was aided by Verstappen's numerous victories in Formula 1, but we must also mention Nyck de Vries, who won the Formula E title five years ago and is now successfully competing not only in the electric series but also in the World Endurance Championship. In previous years, the popularity of motorsport in the Netherlands was at its peak, but now it is steadily declining, and Verstappen understands that it is beyond his control. "It's not up to me," said the four-time world champion in an interview with Formule1 magazine. "Popularity mainly depends on the emergence of talented promising drivers, and let's hope that one of them can break into Formula 1. Because this has the greatest impact on overall interest. And there are always certain coincidences that play a role. Let's remember what happened in Germany in the recent past." The example of Germany is indeed very indicative: at one time, several German drivers competed in Formula 1, a national Grand Prix was held, and there was a huge army of fans. But the last German Grand Prix took place in 2019, and the only driver left in the World Championship is the 38-year-old Nico Hülkenberg. Despite the fact that a factory Audi team has now entered the championship, interest in motorsport continues to decline. Verstappen hopes that his country will not reach that point and that the Dutch government will take some measures to support national motorsport: "I hope the government will intervene too. At certain times, such support is very important. Everyone sees what motorsport can provide. But if we think of Germany, everyone wants to join the 'greens', yet the largest car manufacturers are based in the country. So the situation there is in a state of unstable equilibrium. Fortunately, they still hold great races there, such as the '24 Hours of Nürburgring', although even such competitions are becoming increasingly difficult to organize."