The three-year deal to return to the Netherlands was confirmed by F1 CEO Chase Carey after speculation at the previous round in Spain.

The race will be held at the 4.3-kilometre circuit which winds its way through sand dunes near Zandvoort on the North Sea coastline.

There is no question one of the primary reasons for the reintroduction of a F1 championship race in Holland is the incredible rock star appeal of Red Bull Honda driver Max Verstappen.

Verstappen was actually born in Belgium but has Dutch nationality.

Since his F1 debut at the 2015 Australian GP, as the youngest driver in the history of the championship to race in the premier class, Verstappen has made a meteoric rise to become a superstar of the sport.

His legion of fans has grown dramatically, especially in Europe, with thousands now turning up to races proudly wearing their orange tee shirts and taking up entire grandstands.

The Dutch F1 GP was first held in 1952 on a shorter, 2.6-kilometre circuit that was made up of communication roads built by the occupying German forces during the Second World War.

It was won by Italian Alberto Ascari in a Ferrari who went on to win the championship which that year was run under Formula Two regulations, and he repeated the effort in 1953 under the same regulations.

There was no race in 1954 but in 1955 Mercedes Benz turned up with the all-conquering W196 model and trounced the field with the great Juan Manuel Fangio leading home his apprentice Stirling Moss.

Looking at the current situation it's very much a case of history repeating itself with Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas scoring five consecutive one, two finishes this year.

There were no races in 1956 and 1957 but races were held every year from 1958 to 1985 except for one.

In 1972 the drivers unanimously decided not to race there as they believed the circuit was far too dangerous and there had been a number of fatalities over the years.

In 1973 British driver Roger Williamson was competing in only his second F1 GP when he crashed on lap eight with the car catching fire as it slid down the road upside down trapping the 25-year-old.

Fellow British driver David Purley arrived on the scene and immediately stopped his car and ran to the burning car to try and get Williamson out.

Despite the intensity of the flames Purley, who later said he could hear Williamson calling for help, tried desperately to right the car but it was impossible.

Meanwhile the untrained and ill-equipped Marshalls, who were not wearing fireproof clothing, watched on despite Purley screaming at them to assist.

Like all other F1 lovers of the sport I will never forget the vision of a devastated Purely watching helplessly as Williamson died of asphyxiation.

Purley was subsequently awarded the George Medal for his heroic efforts but in a sad end to the story he was to die in 1985 when his Pitt Special aerobatics plane crashed into the English Channel.

On a lighter note Australia's Jack Brabham had stolen the march on the opposition with the introduction of the new 3.0 litre engine capacity with the Australian-designed and -built Repco V8.

The 40-year-old, two-time champion arrived at Zandvoort in 1966 after winning two races in France and Britain and was leading the championship.

Despite a very critical media claiming he was "too old and over the hill" Brabham comfortably put the car on pole position and then the car was rolled out onto the grid by the mechanics which was the norm in those days.

Brabham then appeared shuffling slowly towards the car complete with walking stick and a very long beard much to the delight of all who witnessed the event.

Just to rub a healthy dose of salt to the wound Brabham went onto win the race and both the drivers and constructors championships, becoming the first and only driver to do so in a car bearing his own name.

Another notable event in the history of the Dutch GP occurred in 1967 when Jim Clark turned up in the Colin Chapman-designed Lotus 49 fitted with the new 3.0 litre Ford Cosworth DFV (double-four valve) V8 engine.

Chapman had convinced Ford to finance the design and build the new engine and it was to go on and become one of the most successful engines in the history of the championship.

Between 1967 and 1985 this ubiquitous engine won 155 F1 races from 267 starts and carried drivers to 12 titles and ten constructors titles.

The return of the Dutch GP is welcome news, but not for two current circuits who will miss out as Vietnam has also been added to the calendar.