Progress takes a pit-stop as women face harassment at the Dutch Grand Prix

This past weekend was a major one for fans of Formula 1 Racing; the Dutch Grand Prix took off at lightning speed, with thousands of fans travelling to Zandvoort to watch the spectacle. 

Yet, the weekend was a disappointing one for any female fans in attendance, as they faced unacceptable harassment at the hands of their male counterparts. 

Multiple cases of harassment

Over twenty women present at the event reported incidents of undesirable behaviour at the race, the NOS reports. This included women being yelled at by passing men, as well as incidents of groping. 

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The race track, which was positioned along the coast of Zandvoort, was mere feet away from the beachfront, where hundreds of people had chosen to spend the weekend swimming and sunbathing in the heat

No doubt beach visitors, stuck by accident amongst the large crowds exiting the stadium and heading into the city and nearby train station, also received unwanted attention. 

Watch out! Female fans were racing to report misconduct at the F1 races. Image: Unsplash

Delayed trains didn’t help 

Female fans, unfortunately, couldn’t make a quick escape from the stadium. While the NS had coordinated to have trains departing every five minutes, bringing fans from Haarlem and Amsterdam to Zandvoort and back, there were many delays in the evening. 

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On Saturday evening, a bus ran into a railway viaduct, causing delays and cancellations along the line. This left fans stranded, as 16% of the trains scheduled for the day were delayed or didn’t run at all. 

And this isn’t the first time 

However, this isn’t the only incident that female fans of F1 have faced unwarranted harassment at events. During the Austrian Grand Prix in July 2022, many fans had the same issues when it came to sexist and misogynistic comments, reported Het Parool

Read More | How men can step up against sexual misconduct in the Netherlands

Fans at the time spoke out against F1, saying that something should happen to prevent incidents like this in the future. 

Some fans even created a group chat to provide each other support after the race but believed that it should be the responsibility of the organisation to provide help and support to victims. 

At the time, F1 made fans aware that they knew of the incidents. However, they have yet to make any statement after the Dutch Grand Prix.

Even Lewis Hamilton, competing for Mercedes, was outraged at the misogyny women faced at the Austrian Grand Prix this past July. Speaking in a comment on his Instagram, Hamilton was ‘disgusted’ and ‘disappointed’ at the behaviour exhibited by fans. 

Let’s hope the F1 stars are equally disgusted this time round. 

What do you think about this behaviour? Leave a comment below, and if you were present in Zandvoort during the Grand Prix, tell us what you experienced!

Feature Image:Depositphotos
Heather Slevin
Heather Slevin
Heather is a Dublin native, addicted to catching the Luas, the Irish version of a tram, for one stop, and well used to the constant rain and shine. Seeking to swap one concrete city for another (with a few more canals and a friendlier attitude to cyclists) here she is with the Dutch Review! As a Creative Writing student, she can usually be found sweating over the complicated formatting of her latest poem or deep inside the pages of a book, and loves writing, writing, writing.

1 COMMENT

  1. In a free society no one has the right to physically manhandle or even touch another person without their permission. Also in a free society no one has any right to expect privacy regarding having their picture taken in a PUBLIC place. Also in a free society, if you believe in freedom of speech, people have the right to say what they want as long as they don’t incite violence.
    .
    Not everyone who lives in a free society really believes in freedom for everyone.

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