The first race on the circuit, the "Prijs van Zandvoort", took place on 7 August 1948. The race was renamed the "Grote Prijs van Zandvoort" (Zandvoort Grand Prix) in 1949, then the "Grote Prijs van Nederland" (Dutch Grand Prix) in 1950. The 1952 race was the first to be run as a round of the World Drivers' Championship, albeit to Formula Two regulations rather than Formula One regulations like all the European rounds of the Championship that year; a similar situation also applied to the 1953. There was no Dutch Grand Prix in 1954, 1956 or 1957, but 1955 saw the first true Formula One race as part of the Drivers' Championship. The Dutch Grand Prix returned in 1958 and remained a permanent fixture on the F1 calendar (with the exception of 1972) until , when it was held for the last time.