In years past, with a few exceptions, Formula 1’s ‘first draft’ calendars for the following season were traditionally revealed during the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend and the final schedule presented to teams in Monza ahead of the early October FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting.
Sometimes tweaks were made prior to the year’s final WMSC meeting, but these were generally as a result of outstanding contractual matters.Last year saw a different schedule, but that was to be expected given the late start to the season due to disruptions caused by the pandemic. But even then a rough outline was discussed during the 2021 Italian Grand Prix.
Yet, this year there has been total silence from the sport on its plans for the 2022 F1 calendar, with no news expected until the Russian Grand Prix weekend or even later.
Indeed, apart from the announcement that Miami will join the 23-race calendar – probably with a May date – there has been little to report in this regard. It did emerge that at least one test session for the first cars built to F1’s new technical regulations is expected to take place in Bahrain, making it likely that the season will open in the Middle East; in addition, Saudi Arabia had expressed its preference for an early date.
That said, contracts held by Monaco, Austin and Abu Dhabi expire/d this year, as does Singapore’s deal. The Circuit de Catalunya was granted a one-off deal this year and the Bahraini and Belgian deals extended a year to the end of next year, while Suzuka negotiated a three-year extension to its contract earlier this year. There is talk the screws are being put on the French race, due to its access problems, despite having two more years to run
Monaco came under pressure over its insistence on a four-day format plus a choice of May weekend, but its deal is said by multiple sources to have been extended following talks which were far from easy. The principality has therefore agreed to abandon its unique format which sees practice begin on Thursday and no F1 track action on Friday.
From next season its event will adopt the same Friday to Sunday format of every other round. It will also pay a hosting fee rather than pass a portion of incremental revenues and taxes – approximately $15m per year – to F1 commercial rights holder Liberty Media.
Still under discussion, though, are Monaco’s TV production rights: the principality insists on its own camera direction, put down to a mixture of practicality and vanity. Camera placement on private property is an issue for Liberty but less so for a state broadcaster, while there is an element of pride in being the only independent producer on the F1 trail. However fans have long expressed frustration over how frequently action is missed in the coverage – such as when Sebastian Vettel and Pierre Gasly went wheel-to-wheel up Massenet this year – so hopefully this matter is soon resolved.
Surprisingly, Spain is said to have renewed its deal for five years. It is an ideal twin with Monaco, while Liberty’s US-based ownership means no issues are expected with renewal – why go to considerable lengths to add a US race (Miami), then dump an existing one? That leaves Singapore and Abu Dhabi: the former is renegotiating its deal after sitting out for two years due to Covid, but Turkey could step into any breach.
In addition, F1 will longer factor ‘red zone’ countries into its calendar, maintaining that any quarantine or isolation issues are the responsibility of teams, not F1. What, then, does this mean for the 2022 calendar? Various sources have spoken of major reshuffles for the first half of the season and much the same after the summer break, with most of their dates chiming as per the provisional calendar outlined below.
Although the final pre-season test dates are yet to be formally announced, at least one test session will take place in the heat of Bahrain – vital for the first running of the new 2022 cars fitted with 18-inch rubber – and thus it makes sense to open the season in Bahrain on March 20th. Jeddah’s second race is expected to follow immediately, with an Australia/China double header commencing a fortnight after the Saudi race.
Following that, F1 would move on either to Imola or Paul Ricard, depending upon negotiations. Hungary, which has a long-term deal, is next, followed by a four-week summer break.
The second half of the schedule is much as per this year except that Jeddah moves to March. The championship therefore concludes with Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Russia, Singapore (or Turkey), Japan, USA, Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi. The season will therefore wrap up in November, giving team staff chance to recover from F1’s longest-ever schedule, featuring four ‘double-headers’ and three triples.
Provisional dates for 2022 F1 calendar
| Date | Country | Circuit |
|---|---|---|
| 20 March | Bahrain | Bahrain International Circuit |
| 27 March | Saudi Arabia | Jeddah Corniche Circuit |
| 10 April | Australia | Albert Park |
| 24 April | China | Shanghai International Circuit |
| 8 May | USA | Miami International Autodrome |
| 22 May | Spain | Circuit de Catalunya |
| 29 May | Monaco | Monaco |
| 12 June | Azerbaijan | Baku City Circuit |
| 19 June | Canada | Circuit Gilles Villeneuve |
| 3 July | Britain* | Silverstone |
| 10 July | Austria* | Red Bull Ring |
| 17 July | France/Italy | Paul Ricard/Imola |
| 31 July | Hungary | Hungaroring |
| 28 August | Belgium | Spa-Francorchamps |
| 4 September | Netherlands | Zandvoort |
| 11 September | Italy | Monza |
| 25 September | Russia | Sochi Autodrom |
| 2 October | Singapore/Turkey | Singapore/Istanbul Park |
| 9 October | Japan | Suzuka |
| 23 October | USA | Circuit of the Americas |
| 30 October | Mexico | Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez |
| 13 November | Brazil | Interlagos |
| 20 November | Abu Dhabi | Yas Marina |
*Dates could be swapped
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Mayrton
18th September 2021, 8:15
Or, in summary: ‘No, we didn’t listen to the drivers & teams. Financials matters most’.
petebaldwin (@)
18th September 2021, 12:00
I was expecting them to say “We had really positive feedback about the triple headers. The teams and drivers love them.”
Mayrton
18th September 2021, 12:41
:-)
Gav
18th September 2021, 13:46
Yep
Liberty are a disaster
Tommy C (@tommy-c)
18th September 2021, 8:32
So much for this 2019 triple header will be the only one…
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
18th September 2021, 14:30
I like triple headers, waiting 2 weeks for a race is really really boring.
glynh (@glynh)
18th September 2021, 8:50
I can take or leave the extra races, I’m just relieved Monaco is staying. That race is one I look forward to each year and it’s a key part of F1s identify so I’m glad both sides saw sense (and of course loads of money…).
LosD (@losd)
18th September 2021, 9:04
Monaco should die in a fire. Worst race of the season year after year.
Identity my rear
Jeff
18th September 2021, 9:44
The only interesting thing to happen at Silverstone in the last 2 years were tyre blowouts and a single crash.
Its just as bad a Monaco
S
18th September 2021, 10:47
Silverstone is most certainly not anywhere near as bad as Monaco.
Tim
18th September 2021, 12:11
I’d prefer to watch Monaco over almost any other race (including Silverstone) for one simple reason: it’s got that atmosphere of tension and pressure.
S
18th September 2021, 13:47
But no racing, Tim.
To be fair, I don’t blame the circuit. I lay 100% of the blame on these awful cars that just keep getting bigger and worse at actual racing every year.
F1 frog (@f1frog)
18th September 2021, 12:38
No idea why you have targeted Silverstone. It’s the best track on the calendar in my opinion; we had a cracking race there last season, and of all the tracks it’s the one where the drivers can run side-by-side more than any other.
Niefer (@niefer)
18th September 2021, 20:01
Never understood such love for an over glorified track. Probably because of the crowds and by usually being a feast for home wins. But honestly, the only good thing since its first heavy re-profiling was Maggots and Becketts.
I wouldn’t give it a minute’s thought if it was to be dropped anytime.
DeanR
19th September 2021, 12:20
Silverstone is a fantastic circuit that produces very good races. Its also been a constant on the F1 calendar from the first F1 Championship season so has become synonymous with Formula 1. Both Monaco and Silverstone should remain on the calendar simply because they are very much part of Formula 1s identity. Monaco may produce unexciting racing for some (most probably) but it doesn’t mean it is worth discarding. To me, and many others, the Indy500 is unexciting but IndyCar would never get rid of it and quite rightly so. It forms an essential part of that series’ identity, just as Monaco does for F1!
Chaitanya
18th September 2021, 14:57
Also they dont pay any kind of hosting fees.
Dave
23rd September 2021, 22:11
Just here to remind you that I obliterated you for saying that stupid word.
Balue (@balue)
18th September 2021, 18:07
Agree about Monaco
Catalunya can also be forever gone AFAIC
cdfemke (@cdfemke)
18th September 2021, 10:31
Monaco is the glitter for f1 and has to stay, true. Hopefully the new camerateam will do better. But i doubt it because the liberty team misses way to much action om track tp. They .dont even bother to cut back to previous incidents such as drivers totally missing chicanes and loosing a lot of time if its not the top3 cars
dot_com (@dot_com)
18th September 2021, 11:38
+1
Mayrton
18th September 2021, 12:51
True, some things are really subpar despite this being a multimillion dollar business. Which is quite strange, since spending more money does solve a lot in these areas. Two others imho is the safetycar (there is a grandpa driving it and every driver complains the pace is too low) and the stewarding.
anon
18th September 2021, 13:14
Maryton, the whole point of the safety car is that it is meant to slow the cars down as a safety measure for marshals to access the track. If you’re making the safety car much faster and therefore having cars coming round at much higher speed and more frequently pass the marshals, doesn’t it seem rather obvious that you are defeating the very point of having the safety car to protect those marshals in the first place?
Red Pill (@redpill)
18th September 2021, 22:41
Well to be honest the SC needs to able to go much faster and then where the Marshalls are out, they can slow the parade way down to a proper safety speeds. 99% percent of the time marshals are only on the track in one section at a time, rest of the track is wide open & free where the SC can go much faster and keep modern F1 cars at a speed that their designed to work within and not over heat and keep tires at temp needed to restart racing at.
Bradders (@bradders)
18th September 2021, 21:56
A grandpa? Bernd Maylander? Are you kidding?
Mayrton
18th September 2021, 22:46
Well I am sure there must be some-one quicker out there that is willing to do this. How is this position filled anyway?
DeanR
19th September 2021, 12:25
Don’t waste your time with this one Bradders! Bernd Maylander is a grandpa and he only got the job through a raffle prize, that’s all there is to it 😂
dot_com (@dot_com)
18th September 2021, 11:37
I agree. I love Monaco, even when very little happens on track. Seeing the cars hurtling round the streets never gets old. It’s as much a part of Formula One as Ferrari is.
Red Pill (@redpill)
18th September 2021, 23:09
@glynh
I have to agree with @losd and @balue, I know Monaco is one of the jewel tracks of F1. It is pretty to look at and an interesting & unique track setup with a long legacy no doubt but the racing is simply terrible with the current cars, its more and more like Formula E type racing. Watching racing on Sunday is like counting sheep over the fence = Zzzzz
The only real competition and real test at Monaco is only the qualifying on Sat.; Sunday is a parade and a better day to be outside and be productive. Watching the rerun and results in the evening or on Monday. Evening quali is less of a surprise after seeing who’s lap times during FP2 & FP3.
You do realize that todays F1 cars are now the same length & width of a Rolls-Royce Phantom extended wheelbase (EWB) model? Now a days Monaco is more suited for Superkarts or F3. Todays F1 cars have physically outgrown Monaco.
S
19th September 2021, 2:56
The last Formula E event there was a cracker. Great racing.
F1 should feel utterly embarrassed.
Silfen (@silfen)
18th September 2021, 9:08
Only a few daya ago I saw a similar calendar with only two triple headers, one before and one after the summer break.
The three different dates are Austria on July 24th, Singapore on October 9th, and COTA on November 6th
Win7Golf (@win7golf)
18th September 2021, 9:21
Where is Portimão ?!?!?!? Are you kidding me ?!!?!?!?!
bosyber (@bosyber)
18th September 2021, 10:27
Portimao probably does not have money to pay a big hosting fee @win7golf, so let’s say it is in beggars’ corner?
Patrick Parkinson (@ppparkinson9)
18th September 2021, 9:27
Placing Bahrain as season opener is smart, if Albert Park produces the usual procession with the new rules it wouldn’t be a great start.
MSO
19th September 2021, 13:31
Albert Park has produced amazing races in the past, I think the issues are with the current cars. If the new cars produce better racing then I’d love to see AP back with it’s opening slot. There’s something very exciting about having to get up early to watch and find out what’s really been going on over the winter!
Alan Dove
18th September 2021, 9:30
Why would any private business want to host an F1 Grand Prix when the risk of it being cancelled/restricted are so high. Look at how many GPs are government subsidised already which has artificially inflated the price of the hosting fee above true market rates.
Governments of the world have made private business, especially related to big events, nigh-on impossible. it’s is exceedingly unhealthy and very very dangerous. Zandvoort lost money with 70k spectators. I don’t think tracks like Portimao fancy having to risk millions.
cdfemke (@cdfemke)
18th September 2021, 10:33
Zandvoort was a boring race and looked more like a dutch carnaval than a F1 weekend to be honoust
Prab
18th September 2021, 14:36
+1
Bradders (@bradders)
18th September 2021, 21:57
Yup. As much overtaking as Monaco and just as dull.
MSO
19th September 2021, 13:32
Agree completely – pretty much nothing happened all race. Just a fast procession. And then all the media outlets (and drives, oddly) jumped and banged on about how amazing it was.
Boring race.
Jeff
18th September 2021, 9:43
So how does removing a heavy braking zone(and thus 1 of only 2 overtaking opportunities) make abu dhabi less of a “follow the leader” course?
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
18th September 2021, 10:11
Why is Abu Dhabi so pedestrian? On paper it looks like an ‘overtake dream’, but obviously it isn’t, maybe statistically it’s not that much different to others, or the action is ‘boring’, or Alonso / Petrov is in peoples minds, or its camera positions.
The run down the Kemmel Straight on lap one of Spa braking into Les Combes is just more exciting, I think most would agree.
I can’t see how the changes will improve Abu Dhabi, as I don’t really know what the problem is. Season decider with double points didn’t make it anymore interesting, and short of that, what else can you do to improve a race?
bosyber (@bosyber)
18th September 2021, 10:32
Jeff, @bernasaurus, for the heavy breaking hairpin onto the straight, the assumed/known answer is: because a) turn two and three are a bit hard to follow through, and b) the chicane before the hairpin already slows the cars and puts a stop to any outbreaking (or heavy breaking at all, since they did that already at the chicane).
And the last bit of the track was just going through the motions because the two straights didn’t really work and after that there was a start-stop bit that nicely spread out the cars already, I think. Don’t know whether the changes will actually work, but it probably will be more interesting to see the cars drive there at least.
cdfemke (@cdfemke)
18th September 2021, 10:38
Also, kemmel straight has raidillon just before it. Making a tiny mistake there is easy, costing a lot running down to les combes, allowing the chacing car to make up ground even if its not a faster car. With slipstream and a bold late breaking that is very much possible because of a wide track in les combes it makes it ideal for that. Abu dhabi doesnt have an eau rouge/raidillon combination
F1 frog (@f1frog)
18th September 2021, 10:02
In general, I like this calendar, as from a fan’s point of view, more races can only be a good thing. However, I’m not sure the teams would say the same, and if it is clear that the three triple headers are too much for them, the calendar should be reduced again for 2023.
My main disappointment with this calendar is not having Albert Park as the opening round. There is something particularly special about getting up in the early hours to watch the first Grand Prix of the season, and it wasn’t quite the same with Bahrain as the first race this season.
bosyber (@bosyber)
18th September 2021, 10:34
To be honest @f1frog, I have found that with so many races they tend to blend together a bit, even apart from putting strain on understanding from family (none of us being used to football’s ‘every saturday’ rythm either), esp. with the sessions impinging more and more on dinner time etc. No, I don’t think more is better beyond a certain point. And for me to be honest, that point was probably passed somewhere between 16 and 20.
So that makes it easy for me to be sympathetic to the team-personnel’s worries :)
CD (@clipperdael)
18th September 2021, 10:58
I wouldn’t agree with more races being a good thing, in fact I’d say that there are way too many races already. Ideally I’d want something like 16-18 Grands Prix per year, one every two or three weeks from mid-March to late October.
The way it’s now it’s just a constant blur of activity, quite often on similar, uninspiring tracks that look like they have all been cut from the same big patch of tarmac and tbh I sometimes feel like it’s becoming a chore to keep up with F1.
floodo1
18th September 2021, 15:56
THIS
Alan Dove
18th September 2021, 13:00
Albert Park will be cancelled anyway.
Bradley
18th September 2021, 10:08
I think there should be 25 Races
Bahrain Sakhir 20 March
Saudi Arabia Jeddah 27 March
Australia Albert Park 10 April
China Shanghai 24 April
Azerbaijan Baku 1 May
SAN MARINO Imola/Mugello 15 May
Portugal/Spain Portimao/Catalunya 22 May
Monaco Monte Carlo 29 May
Miami Miami 12 June
Canada Montreal 19 June
France Paul Ricard 3 July
Austria Red Bull Ring 10 July
Britain Silverstone 24 July
Germany Hockenheim/Nurburgring 31 July
Hungary Hungaroring 7 August
Belgium Spa-Francorchamps 4 September
Netherlands Zandvoort 11 September
Italy Monza 18 September
Turkey/Russia Istanbul Park/Sochi 2 October
Japan Suzuka 16 October
Singapore Marina Bay 23 October
USA COTA 6 November
Mexico Mexico City 13 November
Brazil Interlagos 20 November
Abu Dhabi Yas Marina 4 December
MSO
19th September 2021, 13:38
Why is it so important to call it San Marino?? It’s still a second Italian GP. It makes more sense as Emelio Romagna or however you spell it.
Don’t think the USA should have two GPs, especially not on such dreadful circuits. COTA is completely pointless and just produces bland racing, and Miami looks like a race around a car park. We should be using existing circuits like Road America, Mid Ohio or Laguna Seca which would actually produce decent racing.
Sam
19th September 2021, 22:24
Or Sonoma or Daytona road course. COTA is not even in the top five best US tracks.
Jere (@jerejj)
23rd September 2021, 10:36
@MSO @Sam None of those holds FIA Grade 1. COTA and Indy are the only permanent ones.
Common Monsoon (@commonmonsoon)
18th September 2021, 11:03
It’s a shame Melbourne has been pushed back into April. We still get the occasional lucky warm day here in early April but otherwise, the last remnants of summer have all but completely disappeared by that point. Hopefully it’s just a one time thing, because I really enjoy the summer festival atmosphere at the race.
Alan Dove
18th September 2021, 12:43
I’d place a decent amount on F1 not going to Australia for a very long time.
Postreader
18th September 2021, 12:59
Australia has already given up on their “fortress” zero Covid strategy, they are just waiting for 80% of adults to be vaccinated now.
Alan Dove
18th September 2021, 13:02
We’ll see, something else will pop up. I suspect the psychological implications now will cause after effects that will cause immeasurable damage. I personally doubt Albert Park will happen unlike society changes very very very quickly.
I’d be surprised if it went ahead. Cancelling big events has become far too easy nowadays (well, implimenting restrictions that force them to cancel) as no one is having to feel the damage (yet)
Gmacz
18th September 2021, 18:08
Good riddance to Australia, the “land down under”. Under the thumb of a near police state more precisely.
Albert Park sucked anyway, dull as dishwater.
Balue (@balue)
19th September 2021, 6:28
Yes, Albert Park is woeful. I never understood how F1 could go there, and as noted, Australia has lost its lustre with all the draconian covid measures of late.
MSO
19th September 2021, 13:41
Albert Park is an excellent circuit to both drive on and to watch racing on. The last few years have not been as good as the earlier races but that is due to the cars. Not the circuit. Turn 1, Turn 3, Turn 6, the fast chicane in the middle and the two lesmo-esque corners near the end are all exciting and challenging corners to get right. Not sure which of those have been reprofiled.
Just don’t understand how people who love motorsports don’t like Albert Park.
F1BOLLOCKS (@f1bollocks)
18th September 2021, 11:11
Money grabbers
black (@black)
18th September 2021, 11:26
Liberty: “We want to minimize our carbon footprint and thus we’ll try in the future to ‘group’ races based on continents in order to avoid unecesessary flights back and forth around the globe.”
Also Liberty: “Hey, let’s produce an Asia-Oceania-Asia-North America-Europe-North America-Europe calendar in the span of 3-4 months… you know, because it’s fun!”
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
18th September 2021, 16:41
@black This calendar makes me doubt Liberty’s committment to making money, let alone any other consideration.
Balue (@balue)
19th September 2021, 6:31
@black The sheeple will not notice or mind as long as you keep saying the right things on social media and carry the appropriate slogans.
David BR (@david-br)
19th September 2021, 17:00
@black +1
It’s insane. Particularly this sequence: Saudi Arabia > Australia > China > Miami > Spain.
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
20th September 2021, 19:45
Wouldn’t it make much more sense to have this in the spring:
Spain May 8th
Monaco May 15th (it has been this early before).
Miami May 29th (it’s promised May date)
Canada June 5th
Azerbaijan June 19th
It makes much more sense as they don’t have to transport everything over the Atlantic twice. Then I am sure Azerbaijan can be anytime in May or June and they could have that back to back with another European one perhaps, thus avoiding the triple header in early/mid July.
The calendar just makes no sense.
amian
18th September 2021, 11:42
I soooo hope they will stay at IMOLA! It’s not only a classic, heritage circuit, but it is also one of the very best F1 circuits and GPs there are!
Whereas, Paul Ricard, with its huge colourful asphalt run-off areas is just disgustin go watch and offers nothing.
Baku and Zaandvort are the only valuable additions to the F1 calendar made in the last decade or more.
F1 frog (@f1frog)
18th September 2021, 12:43
I think Imola is a great track and also hope we stay there. But the main reason that I am pleased to see it potentially on the calendar is that it means Formula 1 aren’t so worried about having multiple races in the same country any more. This means maybe we can finally return to my favourite track in the world, Brands Hatch. And whilst we’re at it, a race at Donington Park would be nice too.
Alan Dove
18th September 2021, 14:43
F1 will definitely not be going Brands any time soon.
amian
18th September 2021, 16:02
Brands Hatch is a Grade 2 circuit, so F1 will not race there.
But I do hope IndyCar comes back there some day, as they had a fantastic race there in 2003. IndyCars are much better suited for such a twisty circuit and have and will produce a much better show worthy of that venue.
In terms of having multiple races in a country – F1 can always make it a European GP as they always have. Most recently I think this was the case with Germany having races at Hockenheim and Nurburgring. And Imola was always the San Marino GP anyway.
But of all countries, the UK is definitely the one that deserves 2 or even more GPs!
János
18th September 2021, 21:14
Especially as most of the teams are based there and allegedly they’re “caring for the environment”!
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
18th September 2021, 16:40
@f1frog Last time F1 wanted to race at Donington Park, we nearly lost the venue altogether.
No thank you.
anon
18th September 2021, 18:11
@f1frog F1 is not going to return to Brands Hatch – the death of Henry Surtees in 2009 during a Formula 2 race showed that the safety standards at the circuit were unsuitable for high powered single seater cars, and it’s basically impossible to upgrade the circuit to a higher standard. With that accident, interest in racing high powered single seater cars at Brands Hatch has largely disappeared, and there are no signs that it’s ever going to come back or be considered practical in any way to hold such races.
Alan Dove
18th September 2021, 18:23
Henry was hit by an errant wheel on the head.
There are many examples of why Brands couldn’t host F1 due to the layout and runoffs, but that incident could literally happen at almost any circuit.
F3, F4 and Historic GP cars still go there.
Niefer (@niefer)
18th September 2021, 19:50
I love Imola, and it was a good surprise last races being good. Still, can’t help to feel frustrated with those 2 chicanes in succession, it is such rubbish. This is not 1994 anymore, and with current tecnology on safety it wouldn’t be any more dangerous than some turns we find in current calendar.
All that said, I would prefer the race at raining season. Don’t know if in June it has any dripping.
Niefer (@niefer)
18th September 2021, 19:54
…ofc, my point was to take away either Tamburello or Villeneuve, not both.
Bookoi (@bookoi)
18th September 2021, 12:17
Every calendar that doesn’t end with Interlagos is a bad calendar.
amian
18th September 2021, 16:04
Amen! Although I’d accept 2 venues here: Interlagos and Suzuka.
MSO
19th September 2021, 13:44
Every calendar that doesn’t end with Suzuka you mean!! ;)
plyschak
18th September 2021, 12:27
I have expected Miami to be a doubleheader with Montreal, Baku clashes with Le Mans 🙄 … Hope Singapore will stay, Istanbul can replace Sochi instead. So overall not really an improvement over pre-covid era. Also I am suprised that Qatar is absent from this draft.
Jere (@jerejj)
18th September 2021, 13:23
@plyschak Qatar hosts World Cup next year.
MSO
19th September 2021, 13:44
Literally nobody watches Le Mans.
some F1 fan
18th September 2021, 12:36
These stupid triple headers (plus a double header between Brazil and Abu Dhabi (?!?) aren’t good for anyone and will exhaust resources.
Roger Ayles (@roger-ayles)
18th September 2021, 12:52
23 races – Urgh…..
Triple Headers – Ahhhh.
Liberty clearly don’t listen to anybody & clearly don’t care that most believe there are too many races now & that nobody likes these triple headers.
#LibertyOut!
Alan Dove
18th September 2021, 13:07
They like the prize money that the hosting fees bring in though. At the end of the day Liberty need to make money. They have literally lost hundreds of millions of dollars the last year and a half. I also suspect they know some of these races will be cancelled anyway (Australia I doubt will happen. The rot has set in there and I am not sure when F1 will go back).
You want less races you’ll also have to increase hosting fees. That means tracks like Sillverstone might be in trouble. It’s hard enough having to compete with governments who’ve artificially inflate the price of hosting a race (governments don’t care about overspending largely and thus price will go up)
Remove Liberty and replace with what? An investor group who will pay billions for the commercial rights to F1 and then reduce the amount of potential income?
Bradders (@bradders)
18th September 2021, 22:19
Well said, Alan.
Dave
3rd October 2021, 19:39
Overkill! They’ve turned into a Premier League schedule now.
Sam
18th September 2021, 13:12
If Abu Dhabi is being renegotiated, and there are to be no fixed slots, please can we have an alternative final race? I would love a return to Interlagos or Suzuka being the final race of the season but failing that I would take anywhere else other than Sochi.
ttongsul (@ccpbioweapon)
18th September 2021, 17:47
Sadly Russia will always be on the calendar as long as Putin is around for nation branding propaganda hosting a race and having a Russian driver in F1..
I Never liked modern hybrid street / purpose built tracks with acres of tarmac runoffs but F1 rights owners love it because advertising boards get more air time vs a traditional Silverstone style track .
Jere (@jerejj)
18th September 2021, 20:41
@ccpbioweapon Russian GP will move from Sochi Autodrom to Igora Drive for 2023, which doesn’t have that hybrid feeling, albeit tarmac runoffs but gravel further into them.
Jere (@jerejj)
18th September 2021, 13:33
Melbourne-Shanghai is weird, given they initially formed a double-header for 2016 before getting separated for logistical reasons + last year, I understood Shanghai couldn’t be on consecutive weekends with any circuit because of China’s customs logistics. I guess things have changed, although I hope F1 commits to Melbourne in early-season only if avoiding all stumbling blocks is a 100% certainty well in advance.
Overall, I’m decently okay with this draft, but Miami and Montreal separately, no. Montreal being separate from COTA-Mexico is okay for climatic reasons, but Miami and Montreal are already close in the schedule, so they should definitely be paired to minimize transatlantic back-and-forth travel.
Jere (@jerejj)
18th September 2021, 14:56
Melbourne and Shanghai aren’t on subsequent weekends, after all, which went unnoticed because of article wording.
Bryan (@ruz234014)
18th September 2021, 15:37
Please get rid of Monaco. I understand tradition but the sport outgrew that venue a long time ago.
Niefer (@niefer)
18th September 2021, 20:04
Better to get rid of truckish cars first. Almost 800kg, that’s a joke.
Eiger
18th September 2021, 16:05
I really don’t like triple headers, that is too much for me in a too short time to fully appreciate everything that happens during the weekend, almost no time to let every bit of action sink in and discuss/talk with others later on during the week. Since Liberty keeps them in the calendar disregarding all the issues teams and mostly its personnel have to endure, I guess the solution is to stop watching them altogether. So no Austrian, Netherlands neither Singapore GPs for me next year.
AJ (@asleepatthewheel)
18th September 2021, 16:34
Quite surprised to see the season scheduled to wrap up that early after we’ve had ’20, ’21 (and ’19) extending into December. Could have utilised the 25-27 November weekend for Abu Dhabi and relieved the teams from Rus-Sgp/Tur-Jap flyaway triple header. But I guess everyone gets to be back home a week early this way.
@jerejj agree with you about Miami-Montreal not being paired. Complete waste of resources and fuel. They had a massive opportunity to show their intent towards carbon neutrality.
AJ (@asleepatthewheel)
18th September 2021, 16:48
I wish they had a European GP which the old school tracks could host on a rotation basis for a lesser fee. That way we would get to see Mugello, Hockenheim, Nurburgring, Portimao etc. every few years.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
18th September 2021, 18:04
@asleepatthewheel I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s a starting point for negotiation with the teams. Accept 23 races but end the season a week or two later to reduce the number of triple-headers.
Jere (@jerejj)
18th September 2021, 20:31
@keithcollantine Or start earlier.
AJ (@asleepatthewheel)
19th September 2021, 3:23
@keithcollantine can see that happening.
My school used to schedule tests on Mondays so that the students didn’t laze around during the weekend off (not that we ever studied for them). Eventually we brought up the issue with the headmistress and she asked us to pick between keeping Saturdays working and Monday tests. Needless to say we all picked the pesky tests.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
18th September 2021, 16:35
This is a really strange calendar. If money is the objective, why are stable dates for races no longer available? Why are team quarantine needs disregarded (which runs a high risk of mass non-attendance due to force majeure)? Why so many triple-headers when it has been clearly established they are not sustainable, to fit in a number of races that is being shown to be too many for large sections of the audience (resulting in a fair number of fans giving up on trying to watch, earlier in the season than usual)?
If it’s not the objective… …what is the actual organising principle here? I don’t feel Liberty’s been very forthcoming with that.
Jere (@jerejj)
18th September 2021, 20:37
@alianora-la-canta I agree with you in principle, especially on the quarantine disregard part.
Brawn said post-2020 AusGP cancellation that a race wouldn’t occur if even one team couldn’t participate, so I hope this would still apply if a mandatory & unavoidable quarantine prevented some from participating.
ttongsul (@ccpbioweapon)
18th September 2021, 17:51
Dutch GP should be scrapped due to it being a glorified go cart circuit with zero overtaking.
chinese gp should be removed for punishment for releasing the lab v1rus that has killed millions and wiped off Trillions of global GDP. Race should be replaced with Fuji for a pacific GP, when F1 was last there back in 2007/8 it always provided great racing..I Doubt it would ever happen because the track is owned by Toyota who are more focused on WEC.
armando
18th September 2021, 18:49
i want imola portimao paul ricard hockhenheim every year
Dave
18th September 2021, 18:54
Basically just all 2021 GPs retained. Also, can’t they just stretch it to early December?
Ajaya
18th September 2021, 20:11
What is shocking is that this is happening when domenicalli and brawn are at the helm.. they exactly know how hard it is on the f1 teams .. the mechanics, engineers etc to.have triple headers..
Shame on them..
Roger (@rogerzzz)
18th September 2021, 21:00
I think this is way too much. For committed fans, F1 has always been a time-consuming sport to follow, but combining all 23 F1-weekends with other social obligations (post-covid) is a massive challenge. 16 to 18 races is more than enough.
Dave
19th September 2021, 10:50
Or just stretch the calendar to go from early March to early December.
MSO
19th September 2021, 13:52
Exactly!
János
18th September 2021, 21:19
As a fan, I love the triple headers.
That being said, it must be hugely frustrating for the teams – especially the mechanics – to see that their concerns and struggles are being ignored blatantly for the sake of pushing in more races, i.e. more opportunities for making money.
Give those guys a break already!
Simon
18th September 2021, 23:08
Four double-headers and three triples? Woah…
Surprised to learn Monaco has (finally) agreed to a Friday to Sunday track weekend. Never thought that would happen in my lifetime. Next thing to solve… letting F1TV cover the event, rather than the local broadcaster
The rest of the calendar:
The Bahrain test then race sequence made sense this year, as does a repeat for next year
A venue other than Abu Dhabi could host the season finale in the future? Same comment as Monaco (race weekend) above
Jim from US (@jimfromus)
18th September 2021, 23:25
What happened to carbon footprint and climate change. They come to North America 3 times.
kpcart
20th September 2021, 3:28
Air transport is always overlooked. But i dont think boating them across is a good idea.
Jere (@jerejj)
23rd September 2021, 10:37
@kpcart They won’t boat back-and-forth.
DB-C90 (@dbradock)
19th September 2021, 0:05
Not unexpected really and not really any different from my perspective.
There’s too many races, and with that many triple headers, I’ll actually probably only watch 16 – 18 of them at that’s all I’ll be able to fit in, or more to the point, be interested enough to fit in.
I doubt I’ll go to any live races overseas yet (even if we can), although Melbourne is a possibility if indeed it actually goes ahead.
Juliano
19th September 2021, 1:18
Only 1 week between Brazil and Abu Dhabi seems odd. Also, let’s hope the Brazilian presidential election, which is set two weeks before Sao Paulo GP doesn’t end up in a Coup d’état.
Jere (@jerejj)
23rd September 2021, 10:38
@Juliano They were back-to-back in 2010, so this won’t be the first time.
Broccoliface
19th September 2021, 3:15
Bring back Korea with that wind tunnel straight and year-old leftover food.
Ber101 (@cplchanb)
19th September 2021, 16:00
jumping to miami, back to europe, only to jump to canada an month later makes absolutely no sense in a time when F1 is trying to cut costs. why dont they pair those 2 races together to save on shipping equipment overseas twice, rather than 3 separate times. they already grouped texas with mexico and brazil, why not the first north american leg together?
Jere (@jerejj)
23rd September 2021, 10:40
@cplchanb I agree on pairing Miami and Montreal, although they won’t sea ship back-and-forth.
Zs
19th September 2021, 16:32
So all the garbage is coming back, and none of the good replacement tracks remain.
CSutton
19th September 2021, 20:25
Why on earth would they put Miami on Mother’s day in the US?! You gotta be kidding me!
Jere (@jerejj)
23rd September 2021, 10:41
@CSutton So? Spanish GP has taken place on Mother’s day for countless times, so what’s the difference?
kpcart
20th September 2021, 3:27
the way things are going, Verstappen will have started 500 races by the time he is 35.
Casanova (@casanova)
21st September 2021, 10:59
The second half of the season looks particularly gruelling. Teams will surely arrive in Japan (for their 6th race in 7 weeks) utterly shattered. I hope that neither the safety nor the spectacle suffer from the inevitable mistakes that creep in when people are overworked to such an extent. And then Japan is immediately followed by another two double headers, with long-haul flights and jet lag every time…
Jere (@jerejj)
23rd September 2021, 10:43
@casanova No jet lag between COTA and Mexico City. Otherwise, I share your view.
Nimba (@nimba)
22nd September 2021, 3:32
Nobody even whispered “Vietnam” . LOL . The builder and promoters must be having a great time like Jaypee Sports.
Jere (@jerejj)
23rd September 2021, 10:42
@nimba Vietnamese GP seems a lost cause for the time being, if not even for good.