The FIA has published the racing calendar for the 2023 Formula 1 season: For the first time in the history of the premier class, the racing year includes 24 stations.
The FIA draft “was approved by members of the World Motor Sport Council via e-voting,” it says on the website Website of the association.
The Grand Prix of Bahrain will kick off on March 5th, the last race will be held in Abu Dhabi on November 26th. In between there are three events in the USA (Grand Prix of Miami on May 7th, Grand Prix of the USA on October 22nd and Grand Prix of Las Vegas November 18th) and ten stations in Europe.
In Las Vegas there will be an event race on Saturday for the first time in history.
Compared to the current season with 22 races, guest appearances in China (April 16), Qatar (October 8) and Las Vegas are new to the program. On the other hand, there will be no competition on the Circuit Paul Ricard in France.
As expected, an F1 race in Germany is again missing from the calendar. The prestigious street circuit in Monaco, which also wobbled recently, will be retained. But that’s not all: In the evening, F1 also announced that the Principality would be doing its rounds at least until 2025.
The sport.de users should also be happy: In a survey, a whopping 34 percent named the Belgian Grand Prix as their favorite race. Spa, billed as the “living room” of F1 legend Michael Schumacher, remains in the programme.
Formula 1 calendar “a testament to the growth and appeal of the sport on a global scale”
“The presence of 24 races on the 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship calendar is further evidence of the growth and appeal of the sport on a global scale,” said FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem. “The addition of new venues and the retention of traditional events underscores the FIA’s solid stewardship of the sport. I am delighted that we will be able to start the new era of exciting Formula 1 racing created by the 2022 FIA Regulations been made available to a wider fan base in 2023.”
In addition, the 24-hour race at Le Mans was taken into account in the planning. The prestigious sports car race is scheduled to take place on June 10th and 11th, the week between the Spanish and Canadian Grands Prix.
The Chinese Grand Prix, scheduled for April 16, is likely only tentative if the country’s coronavirus restrictions are lifted. A South African Grand Prix did not make it onto the 2023 calendar after many rumours, but it is believed that Formula 1 will return to the African continent from 2024.
The Formula 1 calendar for 2023 at a glance:
March 5: Sakhir/Bahrain
March 19: Jeddah/Saudi Arabia
April 2nd: Melbourne/Australia
April 16: Shanghai/China
April 30: Baku/Azerbaijan
May 7: Miami/USA
21 May: Imola/Emilia Romagna
May 28: Monaco
June 4: Barcelona/Spain
June 18: Montreal/Canada
July 2: Spielberg/Austria
July 9: Silverstone/Great Britain
July 23: Budapest/Hungary
July 30: Spa/Belgium
August 27: Zandvoort/Netherlands
September 3: Monza/Italy
September 17: Singapore
September 24: Suzuka/Japan
8 October: Losail/Qatar
October 22: Austin/USA
October 29: Mexico City/Mexico
November 5: Sao Paulo/Brazil
November 18: Las Vegas/USA
November 26: Abu Dhabi