Plans for racing at Zandvoort predate World War II; the first street race on the location was held on 3 June 1939. After the war, a permanent circuit was laid out using communications roads constructed by the German occupying forces during the occupation. The layout was partly dictated by these existing roads, and track design advisor S. C. H. "Sammy" Davis, the 1927 Le Mans winner, was brought in as a consultant in July 1946. John Hugenholtz, though often credited with the circuit's design, was instead involved as chairman of the Nederlandse Automobiel Ren Club before becoming the track's first director in 1949.
The Prijs van Zandvoort, the first race on the circuit, was held on 7 August 1948. The race was progressively renamed as the Grote Prijs van Zandvoort and then the Dutch Grand Prix. The 1952 race was the first to count toward the Formula One World Championship, though it was held to Formula Two regulations — as were all European championship rounds that year. From 1955 onward the circuit hosted true Formula One championship races, with the Dutch Grand Prix becoming a near-permanent fixture on the calendar through 1985. The circuit ran at 4.193 km from 1948 to 1971, expanded to 4.226 km from 1972 to 1979, and reached 4.252 km in the 1980 to 1989 configuration.
Zandvoort gained a strong following among drivers and fans for its combination of fast, flowing corners and the distinctive Tarzanbocht hairpin — known in English as Tarzan Corner — at the end of the start-finish straight. The corner reportedly takes its name from a local resident who earned the Tarzan nickname and agreed to yield his vegetable garden on the condition that a nearby corner carry his name. Tarzanbocht's camber allows overtaking both on the inside and outside, making it one of the circuit's defining overtaking points. Scheivlak, a fast sweeping left-hander in the back section, was another corner prized for its driver challenge.
After its final Formula One race in 1985, the circuit faced a combination of financial difficulties and noise pollution objections from nearby residents. The commercial operating company CENAV called in receivers and went out of business in 1987, temporarily threatening the venue's existence. A new operating foundation, the Stichting Exploitatie Circuit Park, was formed, and in 1989 the track was remodelled to a shorter Club Circuit of 2.526 km by removing the southern section, which was redeveloped as a leisure resort. The circuit operated in this reduced form through 1998.
In 1995 the circuit received formal recognition from the Dutch government and began planning a full international rebuild. The reconstruction was completed in 2001, producing a 4.307 km Grand Prix layout that restored the circuit to international competition standards, including a new pit building developed by HPG, the company of John Hugenholtz Jr., son of the former circuit director.
Interest in restoring the Dutch Grand Prix grew during the late 2010s as Dutch driver Max Verstappen's success in Formula One created enormous domestic demand. In May 2019, Zandvoort confirmed a deal with Formula One Management to host the Dutch Grand Prix from 2020. Several modifications were made to the layout by designer Jarno Zaffelli to meet contemporary Formula One safety and spectator standards, most notably the addition of steep banking to Turn 3 — renamed Hugenholtzbocht — and Turn 14, the Arie Luyendyk corner. Turn 3 received a 19-degree bank and Turns 13-14 an 18-degree bank, creating some of the most steeply banked corners of any permanent circuit on the modern Formula One calendar.
The planned 2020 race was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Dutch Grand Prix returned on 5 September 2021 to a sold-out circuit and became one of the season's most attended events. Formula One's partnership with Zandvoort was scheduled to continue through 2026, after which the circuit's status on the calendar was subject to renegotiation.
The circuit's corners in the post-2020 configuration run from the Tarzan hairpin (Turn 1), through Gerlach corner, the steeply banked Hugenholtzbocht (Turn 3), Hunserug, Slotemaker corner, the fast Scheivlak (Turn 7), and the Masters corner, continuing to the CM.com corner, the Hans Ernst corners, and the banked Arie Luyendyk corner at the end. The total elevation change across the layout is 8.9 metres.
Circuit Zandvoort holds a distinct place in European motorsport as one of the few classic tracks whose geography — coastal dunes rather than former airfields or purpose-built complexes — gives it a visual identity unlike any other Formula One circuit. Its decades-long Dutch Grand Prix history, the return of F1 racing in 2021, and the circuit's role as a backdrop for the intense Verstappen-era Dutch motorsport fandom place it among the most culturally resonant venues in the modern calendar.