Formula 1 will continue to have a Bahrain Grand Prix on its annual racing calendar not only in the medium term but in the long term. On Friday it was announced that an agreement had been reached to extend the current contract up to and including 2036!
The Bahrain International Circuit, located in the Sachir desert, first appeared on the Formula 1 calendar in the 2004 season and has been driven there 18 times to date. The race was canceled in the 2011 season due to political unrest in the country.
In the 2020 season, however, Formula 1 made two guest appearances in Bahrain. Because in addition to the Grand Prix of Bahrain on the Grand Prix layout, there was a Grand Prix of Sachir in the “Corona year”. This was driven on the shorter layout (Outer Circuit).
Formula 1: Fourth Middle East race with long-term contract
With the new long-term contract until 2036, Bahrain joins a list of grands prix that are guaranteed to remain on the Formula 1 calendar for more than just the usual two or three years.
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix has a ten-year contract until 2030, with Quiddiya instead of Jeddah from 2023. The Qatar Grand Prix, which was held for the first time in 2021, will also be held for ten years from 2023 (until 2032) after a one-year break.
In December it was announced that Abu Dhabi would remain on the Formula 1 calendar until 2030. In January, the announcement followed that driving in Singapore would continue until 2028. It was already announced in November that the Chinese Grand Prix would remain on the calendar until 2025. In the latter two cases – Singapore and China – however, there was no driving in 2020 and 2021. The reason was the coronavirus pandemic.
As far as Bahrain is concerned, 2022 will not only host the opening race of the Formula 1 season. The final winter tests are also scheduled for the Bahrain International Circuit. Date for this second test week after that in Spain (Barcelona) is March 10th to 12th. The Bahrain Grand Prix is scheduled for March 20 .