Belgian Grand Prix promoter André Maes has revealed that 70,000 three-day tickets have already been sold for this weekend’s race at Spa-Francorchamps, with Red Bull rising star Max Verstappen clearly a factor in the uptick.
Over 20,000 Dutch fans are expected in the Ardennes to cheer on Formula One’s youngest ever race winner, who incidentally was born in Belgium from a Belgian mother.
Talking to French-langague newspaper La Dernière Heure, Maes explains that the enthusiasm and buzz around Verstappen is similar to the heyday of the Michael Schumacher era.
“70,000 tickets have already been paid,” he said. “I had not seen that since 2001-2002. And I’m talking here about actual figures, about three-day tickets that have been sold.
“It’s not like other events I have worked on for a few years and where there was a big gap between the figures announced and the actual turnout.”
The increase in ticket sales is sure to be welcomed by the Wallonia region, as its government has to cover the deficit of the Belgian Grand Prix every year. The 2015 edition posted a €6.8m (£5.8m) deficit, down from €7.9m (£6.8m) the previous season.
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