The more Max Verstappen wins, the emptier it becomes in Zaal Housmans in Montfort

For years, there was a good alternative for those who did not travel to a grand prix to see Max Verstappen in action. In Zaal Housmans in Montfort, enthusiasts could follow the Formula 1 races on large screens, together with other Verstappen fans and – until his death in 2019 – Max’s grandfather, Frans Verstappen. The Limburg hall grew into a kind of place of pilgrimage, also for the Dutch media.

On the best days there were easily three or four hundred people from eight to 88 years old, sometimes even more. About 80 percent of the visitors did not come from Montfort or the immediate surroundings. The biggest fanatics drove two hundred kilometers there and two hundred kilometers back to watch a match on TV at this location. And as Verstappen’s successes increased since his debut in March 2015, the atmosphere in Zaal Housmans became more exuberant.

But when Verstappen started winning more and more often, it gradually became empty. “The tension has subsided a bit,” admits Antoine Zeelen (52). For the last four years he has been the organizer of the meetings in Montfort. “At the penultimate race of this season, the Grand Prix of Brazil, we only had 57 people in here.”

It’s not just the lack of excitement that bothers Housmans, everything is also becoming more and more expensive. The hall has higher energy costs, and inflation and excise tax increases have caused consumer prices to rise. “People ‘from Holland’ may find a drink cheap here, but not everyone can afford it. With a race early in the morning, the drink turnover is disappointing anyway,” says Zeelen, who also pays room rent and has recently had to invest money in the organization. That’s why he decided to quit. He felt that the few thousand euros in losses per year were financially acceptable. He runs a demolition company with 21 employees and his wife has a clothing store. Zeelen: “A hobby can cost money. But I also hated having to do it every race again, and having to constantly rely on the same small group of volunteers. I’m a Formula 1 fanatic, but I don’t get anything from the races. I’m too much of a perfectionist for that. I’ll watch the races again once or twice later. And when I want to go to the Grand Prix in Belgium, Germany and Austria for a weekend, I have to arrange for someone else to do the driving.”

Us knows us

In Montfort, with approximately three thousand inhabitants, we know us. Zeelen’s parents had a chip shop next to Zaal Housmans for 44 years. Grandfather Verstappen ran a café and later an ice cream parlor a little further on, on the roundabout. Antoine and Jos, Max’s father, were in class together.

Together with the rest of the town, he saw Jos emerge as a racing driver about three decades ago. “Formula 1 was less big than it is now and he of course did not achieve the results of his son. But the people of Montfort were still proud,” says Zeelen. “Jos had moved to Belgium, but still came here regularly. When he reached the podium for the first time in August 1994 with a third place in Hungary, there was a big celebration. With tents at the roundabout. Not without danger with all the through traffic.”

When Jos’ son Max showed himself as a racing talent at an early age, the village quickly buzzed around, says Zeelen. “But yes, karting and races in the lower car classes are not on TV. So things really started to take off with Max’s entry into Formula 1.” There was Max-mania in Montfort for years. A pleasant madness, Zeelen thought. “It’s just a shame that Max never showed up here, despite our requests.”

Polish in pandemic

Corona also contributed significantly to the decreased interest, Zeelen believes. Periods of temporary closure and partial opening removed the permanent corridor to the hall in Montfort. “Or they were used to different ways of seeing. Someone recently paid with the coins we spent here four years ago. That means that he had not been here in the meantime.”

The pandemic was still raging when Max Verstappen became world champion for the first time in 2021. “We were then limited to a maximum number of spectators. That was also a reason to ban journalists. But they came in anyway, just like others,” Zeelen reflects. “Polonaises walked out and then came back in with more people. The police did come to check, but were lenient. They understood that enforcement, or constantly telling people to move one meter to the left or to the right, was not possible with that joy.” Don’t make it too crazy, the officers gave Zeelen as a message.

He considers December 12, 2021, to be the highlight of all those years of meetings in Zaal Housmans. “Nobody thought it was possible anymore, until that last lap with Lewis Hamilton. Even as a perfectionist, I was able to let go of arranging for a moment,” says Zeelen.

‘Water with the wine’

In recent years, the number of places where Formula 1 can be watched has expanded considerably. “People can follow the match in cafes. Or they watch and drink in some man cave,” says Zeelen. “The local-national relationship has now also been reversed. Now 80 percent here come from the region and only 20 percent from further away.”

According to Zeelen, the regular visitors mourn the end of a beautiful tradition. “We also have a social function. For example, single elderly people come here with their dogs. We put money towards that because they might just have a cup of coffee. But we are happy to do something extra for them, even get a bowl of water for the dog. These are people who really long for the races and the outing that goes with them. I think it’s the worst for them.”

But on Sunday, just before the start of the last race in Abu Dhabi, the venue owner calls Zeelen over. She asks if he doesn’t regret quitting. Then he proposes “financial compromise.” It immediately changes Zeelen’s mind, he says by telephone after the race won by Verstappen. He continues. “Also because of all the people who offered to help after the announcement to stop. The narrow base of the same four or five volunteers has now expanded to about fifteen people.”

So Zeelen does not have to break away from the Montfort event for the time being, a ‘mourning process’ that was estimated by his wife to take at least six months. But what about his plan to go to the Grand Prix in Canada next year? “That continues as usual. They will manage here without me.”