Record 24-round 2023 F1 calendar revealed

Updated: Tuesday 20th September at 16:05. The FIA has revealed the full 2023 Formula 1 calendar, featuring a record 24 races. Unusually there was no officially released provisional calendar, this is the finalised calendar ratified by the World Motor Sport Council.

There are few surprises to be found, given that we already knew the makeup of the majority of the tracks to host events. Qatar and China are perhaps the only sort of surprises. The Qatari event had been expected, but with no real indication of a promised new circuit it wasn’t clear if it would indeed return for 2023, and the ongoing Covid restrictions in China did make a return seem implausible.

However the rest of the calendar follows a familiar path. It begins in Middle East, with Bahrain opening and Saudi Arabia following two weeks later. The teams will then hop to Australia before working their way back via China and Azerbaijan.

F1’s sustainability credentials aren’t exactly boosted by a huge journey from Azerbaijan to Miami and then back to Italy for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, all of which comes in the space of just three weeks. The round at Imola begins the European season, punctuated as usual by the Canadian Grand Prix on June 18th. The summer break this time takes place between the Belgian and Dutch Grands Prix, with the round at Spa now moving to an end-of-July date rather than its traditional August slot.

Teams will then head to Asia, with Singapore, Japan and Qatar coming before a return to the USA and COTA in late October. Mexico and Brazil for a triple header with the US round before the first Las Vegas Grand Prix on 18th November. The season ends, as has become tradition, in Abu Dhabi on 26th November.

The announcement came from the FIA, rather than Formula 1 itself, and we don’t have a list of circuits to go with the cities/countries just yet. So there is more information to come.

The new calendar also avoids a clash with the Le Mans 24 Hours – a boon for not only motorsport fans, but several manufacturers, in the 100th anniversary of the race.

We may also expect to see some changes, for example the Belgian Grand Prix is currently scheduled as the same weekend as the Spa 24 Hours, at the same circuit.

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem said: “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. The addition of new venues and the retention of traditional events underlines the FIA’s sound stewardship of the sport. I am delighted that we will be able to take Formula 1’s new era of exciting racing, created by the FIA’s 2022 Regulations, to a broader fan base in 2023. In framing the 2023 F1 calendar, WMSC Members have also been mindful of the timing of the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans.”