Formula 1 has revealed its new calendar for the 2024 season which will feature a record-breaking 24 grands prix.
As reported previously, Japan’s race will move from September to April, its earliest ever date. To accommodate this the Azerbaijan round has been pushed back to its latest-ever date in September.
The first two races on the 2024 F1 calendar will take place on Saturdays and the extended championship will run into December for the first time since 2021.
While F1 hoped to add its first round in Africa for more than three decades, it has been unable to reach an agreement with promoters in the region. Instead the Belgian Grand Prix, which was given a one-year extension on its contract when it expired last year, has been retained on the calendar for another season.
The Chinese Grand Prix has again been scheduled on the new calendar. The race last took place five years ago, and has been cancelled every year since then due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Following three days of testing at the Bahrain International Circuit between the 21st and 23rd of February, F1 will remain at the track for the first race of the new season. The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah, which at one stage was tipped to take over as the opening round, will follow one week later.
In order to fit the races around the Islamic religious period Ramadan, which begins on March 22nd next year, the first two rounds will be held on Saturdays. F1 hasn’t held a race outside a Sunday since 1985, but that will change when the Las Vegas Grand Prix takes place this November.
Following a season-opening double-header, two-week breaks will separate the subsequent rounds at Albert Park in Melbourne, the early trip to Suzuka in Japan, China’s restored race and the first of three trips to the United States of America for the Miami Grand Prix. After a European double-header, including the Monaco Grand Prix in its traditional date, F1 will return to North America for the Canadian Grand Prix.
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Seven European races arranged as one triple-header and two double-headers will follow, including the usual four-week summer break. Teams will have another lengthy gap later in the calendar, as a three-week break follows consecutive weekends of racing in Azerbaijan and Singapore.
An intense conclusion to the calendar will see six races scheduled in the space of seven weeks. This pair of triple-headers includes two further races in the USA, after which the season will conclude as it begins, with back-to-back races in the Middle East.
The calendar was approved by the FIA World Motor Sport Council earlier today. F1 has not confirmed whether any sprint races will be held next year, or where they may take place.
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said “there is huge interest and continued demand for Formula 1, and I believe this calendar strikes the right balance between traditional races and new and existing venues.”
Some of the changes made to the calendar were done with the aim of reducgin and optimising the large quantities of freight F1 sends around the world. “Our journey to a more sustainable calendar will continue in the coming years as we further streamline operations as part of our Net Zero 2030 commitment,” said Domenicali.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said the sport’s governing body “want to make the global spectacle of Formula 1 more efficient in terms of environmental sustainability and more manageable for the travelling staff who dedicate so much of their time to our sport.”
“Stefano Domenicali and his team have done a great job to both bring in new and exciting venues in emerging markets for Formula 1, and stay true to the sport’s long and remarkable heritage,” he added.
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2024 F1 calendar
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