2023 F1 calendar

2023 Chinese Grand Prix cancelled

Updated 13:35 2^nd December: For the third year running Formula 1 has had to ammend its calendar due to Covid-19 restrictions, after the series confirmed that the 2023 Chinese Grand Prix, scheduled to take place in April, will no longer take place.

The country is still grappling with waves of the virus, and continuing restrictions have meant the race will not take place. No decision has been announced on whether a new race will be brought in to replace the lost round, which currently leaves a four-week gap in the calendar. If no replacement is found it will leave Formula 1 with a 23-race calendar, still the longest in the history of the sport. 

In a statement announcing the cancellation F1 said: "Formula 1 can confirm, following dialogue with the promoter and relevant authorities, that the 2023 Chinese Grand Prix will not take place due to the ongoing difficulties presented by the COVID-19 situation.

“Formula 1 is assessing alternative options to replace the slot on the 2023 calendar and will provide an update on this in due course.”

2023 F1 calendar

*Subject to FIA Circuit Homologation

Singapore GP track changes for 2023

Updated: Wednesday 19^th October 2022 at 09:45. The track for the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix has been revealed, with a change to the layout removing the entire marina-front setting and cutting 20 seconds from the lap time.

With construction work going ahead along the marina, where the cars currently drive in front of a grandstand before driving under fans through a fiddly double chicane section.

This was most famously the area in which Nelson Piquet Jr. deliberately crashed to help Fernando Alonso win the 2008 grand prix.

Rather than the current section, in which cars can only really run in single file through a series of 90-degree corners, there will now be a very long, flat out section including a near 400m straight before the final chicane.

The lap will now be shorter, thus reducing the length of the race by two laps from 63 to 61, subject to formal FIA approval.

The organisers expect the layout to revert to the standard from 2024.

Six F1 sprint races for 2023

Updated: Thursday 29^th September 2022 at 12:15. F1 will hold six different sprint races in 2023, double the number held this season.The format was introduced in 2021 at the British Grand Prix and two more were held that season, at Monza and Interlagos. This season will also have a total of three Sprint races, two have been held, at the Red Bull Ring and Imola, and the final one will follow again at Interlagos.

Which rounds will hold sprint races in 2023 has yet to be announced.

F1 confirms 2023 venues, Monaco gets new three-year deal

Updated: Wednesday 21^st September 2022 at 09:00. Following the confirmation of the 2023 F1 calendar by the FIA yesterday (20^th September) Formula 1 has followed up with its own confirmation including all the venues for each race (details missing from the FIA’s release) and the confirmation that Monaco will return for at least the next three years.

The News from F1 confirms the exit of the French Grand Prix, and that both the Qatar and Saudi Arabian rounds are set to stay at the same venues, despite original intentions of change. The Saudi round will remain on the super-fast and at times accident-prone Jeddah Corniche circuit while F1 will return to Losail in Qatar – where it first raced in the chaotic 2020 season.

The final piece of the jigsaw yet to fall into place is the Las Vegas round, the circuit for which still requires FIA homologation to the correct standard. This is, admittedly, pretty much a formality, and will be easily completed before the race becomes F1’s first Saturday race for decades.

Formula 1 CEO and President Stefano Domenicali said: “We are excited to announce the 2023 calendar with 24 races around the world. Formula 1 has unprecedented demand to host races and it is important we get the balance right for the entire sport.

“We are very pleased with the strong momentum Formula 1 continues to experience and it is great news that we will be able to bring our passionate fans a mix of exciting new locations such as Las Vegas to the Championship with much loved venues across Europe, Asia and the Americas.”

Record 24-round 2023 F1 calendar revealed

Updated: Tuesday 20^th 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 18^th. 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 18^th November. The season ends, as has become tradition, in Abu Dhabi on 26^th 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 100^th 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.”

British F1 Grand Prix date revealed

Updated: Thursday 8^th September at 10:45. The provisional date for the 2023 British Grand Prix has been revealed on Silverstone’s website. On the circuit’s ticketing section the race is listed as taking place over 7-9th July 2023. The British F1 race has traditionally taken place around the first weekend of July.

Belgian Grand Prix secures place on 2023 F1 calendar

Updated: Tuesday 30^th August at 09:15. The Belgian Grand Prix at the historic Spa-Francorchamps circuit will continue for at least one more year after an agreement was reached with Formula 1.

The Belgian F1 race, a staple on the calendar for decades, appeared to be in jeopardy with Formula 1 looking to new races in new areas, moving away from its traditional European heartland. But it was announced just before this year’s race that an agreement had been reached to host a Grand Prix at the circuit for a 56^th time in 2023.

While the extension has been greeted warmly by many in the paddock, who had decried the potential loss of the historic race, Formula 1 may still look to end the relationship after 2023.

The upgrade that Spa went through before the 2023 race, largely focused on run off and spurred by a future with motorcycle races, has helped. But it is understood that F1 still wants to see more commitment to upgrade the paddock infrastructure.

Speaking of the announcement on Sky Sports F1, Formula 1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali said: “We have to congratulate the job [the race organisers] did. You’ve seen the investment they did. You see the number of people that are coming here… Incredible crowd, incredible attention to the people, and this is great. Great I think for the sport.

“We always said that the race is a part of our tradition, and it has a very important space in our calendar, and this is a fact that we wanted to share in this moment.”

No information has been released about the future of the race beyond 2023.

Australian Grand Prix date announced

Updated: Tuesday 16^th August 2022 at 11:45. The 2023 Australian F1 Grand Prix will take place on 2^nd April, the event announced today. While this date is subject to approval by the FIA it is the first date to be announced so far for the 2023 season.

Melbourne recently signed a new deal to continue hosting the event, which will no longer be guaranteed a place at the start of the season, but is set to remain in the first three rounds of each year.

What F1 races have contracts for 2023?

Unlike the past two seasons, where a significant number of circuits were late in agreeing longer-term deals, the majority of the new season’s F1 calendar is already decided. Grands Prix that are guaranteed to return in 2023 are: Abu Dhabi, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Britain, Canada, the Netherlands, Emilia Romagna (Imola), Hungary, Italy (Monza), Japan, Miami, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Singapore, Spain and the US (COTA).

These will be joined by a new race in Las Vegas, as announced recently, and returns to China – missing since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic – and Qatar.

Which current F1 races might miss out?

Four current F1 races do not have a contract in place beyond the end of this season: Austria, France, Mexico and Monaco.

Is there any hope for any of those races?

Austria certainly has hope, given the circuit is owned by Red Bull and the race is bankrolled by the company and its owner Dieter Mateschitz. Mexico City has also been a huge success, fulfilling F1 owner Liberty Media’s wish for races with a bit more razzmatazz. The growing success of Checo Perez can only help its cause, and if Pato O’Ward makes it to F1 that could seal the deal.

But there is significant trouble for the other circuits on this list. Spa has been undergoing significant revisions with motorbike racing and safety in mind, but the failure of the 2021 race will have put some doubts in the minds of organisers. That said, it is probably France and Monaco that are in most danger. Monaco pays no money to host its race thanks to its historic nature, and various issues have come up between the ACM – which runs the event – and Liberty over the last few years. France’s position is perilous too, given a lack of cash from the organisers, but also various organisational issues at the Paul Ricard circuit over the last few years.

With F1 looking seriously at new avenues, including how to race in Africa, and with a confirmed calendar of 20 races already in place, the French Grand Prix’s future looks in peril. Talks have already begun over a new deal for Monaco, and while it’s never been in danger like this, there is perhaps more hope for a 2023 Monaco Grand Prix than the French, if the ACM are willing to budge on a few issues.

What are the new races on the calendar in 2023?

Just the one, a trip to Las Vegas. A few years ago even having one F1 race in the USA seemed like a long shot, but from next year there will be three, making it four on the North American continent. The race will be different from others, not just because it slices through the centre of the Las Vegas strip and all its bright lights, but because it will happen on a Saturday and be timed to coincide with prime time on US TV.

What will change in the 2023 F1 calendar?

Other than the new races, there has been a significant amount of chatter about re-organising the calendar to make it easier for teams. The 2022 calendar includes multiple trips out of Europe for a single race, forcing teams to transport cars, spares and personnel across the world in short notice.

As F1 pushes to a larger calendar, and with its sustainability ever more important, F1 chiefs are looking at ways to make the calendar both easier to manage and easier on the environment.

The result is we can expect to see more groupings of races in individual continents, similar to the traditional “European season” that takes place over the summer. This could include measures like Miami and Canada taking place closer to each other, middle-eastern rounds scheduled together, and the races in eastern Asia being grouped.

Will any races change venue?

It doesn’t look like any of the existing venues will change for 2023, but several are set to change beyond that. Qatar’s only round to date took place at the Losail International Circuit, but its agreement on signing a long-term contract to host a race involved moving to a different track, purpose built for Formula 1.

Saudi Arabia, too, has plans to move away from its current home. The Jeddah Corniche circuit has been praised and criticised in equal measure, but the long-term plan has always been to move away from the tight street circuit long term. The organisers plan to move to a purpose-built track in Qiddiya, a new entertainment centre around 40km outside the Saudi capital of Riyadh. The original plan was for this move to happen after three seasons at Jeddah, making 2023 the final edition, but it now seems that stay will be five years ­– meaning three more seasons at Jeddah.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.