Enlarge image
The start at this year's race in Monza - one of 24 Grand Prix in the coming year
Photo: IMAGO/HOCH ZWEI / IMAGO/HochZwei
Formula 1 will continue to expand in the coming season and will add two more races to the calendar.
24 races are scheduled to take place in the coming season, including the Grand Prix in Las Vegas and Shanghai.
The World Motor Sport Council of the World Association FIA has approved the official plan.
The previous high from this and last year is 22 Grands Prix.
23 had been planned, but the Grand Prix in the former Olympic location Sochi was canceled due to the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine.
This should have taken place next weekend.
Formula 1 will not compete in Russia in 2023 either.
After more than 40 years, the racing series is returning to Las Vegas: The street race is scheduled to take place under floodlights on November 18th as the penultimate event.
After Miami (May 7th) and Austin (October 22nd) it is already the third US race.
The Qatar Grand Prix (October 8) is also returning after a year-long hiatus.
With the opener in Bahrain (March 5th), the second race of the season in Saudi Arabia (March 19th) and the finale in Abu Dhabi (November 26th), four races are taking place in the Arabian region.
The Chinese Grand Prix (April 16), which has not been held since 2020 due to the pandemic, is also scheduled to return.
Fia President Mohammed Ben Sulayem rated the number of 24 races as “further evidence of the growth and attractiveness” of Formula 1 worldwide.
High stress for the teams
For the racing teams, however, more races not only mean more presence, but also greater challenges.
The teams are already groaning under the high strain, especially two or three races on consecutive weekends are complex and, of course, expensive because of the immense logistics.
The new plan envisages six of these races, and two races in the premier class of motorsport will even take place on three weekends in a row.
The street race in Monaco (May 28), which seemed questionable in the meantime, will also be there next year.
As expected, there has not been a German Grand Prix for years.
There is actually still some space in the calendar.
The current set of rules allows 25 races in a season.
see/sid