Plans for racing at Zandvoort predate the Second World War — a street race was held there on 3 June 1939 — but the permanent circuit was not built until after the war, using communications roads constructed by the occupying German military. The layout was partly dictated by these existing roads, and the track design advisor brought in was S. C. H. "Sammy" Davis, winner of the 1927 24 Hours of Le Mans, who visited as a consultant in July 1946.
The first race on the permanent circuit, the Prijs van Zandvoort, took place on 7 August 1948. The event was renamed the Grote Prijs van Zandvoort in 1949 and then the Grote Prijs van Nederland in 1950. In 1952 the race became a round of the World Championship, though run to Formula Two regulations that year and in 1953, as was common for European championship rounds at the time.
The circuit's classic layout measured 4.193 km from 1948 to 1971, modified slightly to 4.226 km from 1972 to 1979, and lengthened again to 4.252 km from 1980 to 1989. The Dutch Grand Prix appeared on the Formula One World Championship calendar as a near-permanent fixture from 1955 through 1985, with only isolated absences in 1954, 1956, 1957, and 1972.
The circuit gained popularity for its combination of fast, sweeping corners and the unique setting among the North Sea dunes. The most celebrated section was the Tarzanbocht — Tarzan Corner — a hairpin at the end of the start-finish straight that provided consistent overtaking opportunities. The corner's name reportedly derives from a local character who agreed to give up his vegetable garden in the dunes to allow the track's construction, on the condition that a nearby corner bear his nickname.
Among the classic layout's defining corners was the Scheivlak, a fast sweep through the dunes that tested a car's mechanical grip and a driver's commitment. The elevation change across the circuit, which amounted to 8.9 metres between its highest and lowest points, contributed to the layout's character without creating the extreme undulation of some contemporary road circuits.
The classic Zandvoort circuit hosted some of the defining races of the Formula One era. Jim Clark won the Dutch Grand Prix five times at the circuit, and other dominant champions including Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, and James Hunt recorded victories there. The sand dunes and coastal weather created atmospheric conditions that became part of the circuit's identity.
By the mid-1980s, the classic layout was struggling to meet contemporary safety standards. Noise pollution for residents living near the southern section of the track had become a serious issue, and the infrastructure for spectator access and facilities lagged behind the demands of modern Grand Prix organisation. The Dutch Grand Prix was held for the last time at the classic layout in 1985 and then dropped from the Formula One calendar.
The commercial operating company for the circuit, CENAV, went bankrupt in the late 1980s, threatening the complete closure of the site. The municipality of Zandvoort, which owned the land, backed the formation of a new operating foundation, the Stichting Exploitatie Circuit Park, which took over management of the facility.
In the summer of 1989, the classic 4.252 km layout was remodelled to an interim club circuit of 2.526 km by disposing of the southern section — the area that had caused noise and land-use conflicts — and constructing a more compact track on the remaining infield area. The disposed land was redeveloped for a bungalow park and sports facilities.
The original classic layout of Zandvoort, in use for over four decades, was never fully restored. A new international-standard circuit of 4.307 km was built by 2001 on a modified route, and this successor — further updated with banked corners for the return of the Dutch Grand Prix in 2021 — is the present-day Circuit Zandvoort.