Jeddah Corniche Circuit aerial view, 2023

F1 Academy confirms calendar for second season including Saudi Arabia opener

F1 Academy

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Formula 1 has announced the calendar for the second season of the all-female F1 Academy series, which will start in Saudi Arabia next March.

The Formula 4-specification series was launched this year. It is the highest profile single-seater series specifically for female drivers following the demise of the Formula Regional-spec W Series last year after three seasons of racing.

The F1 Academy grid consists of five teams running three cars each. The inaugural seven-round season (with each round featuring three races) has previously supported the World Endurance Championship, DTM and NASCAR Euro Series and will conclude this weekend with races on the undercard of F1’s United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas.

For next season every round will held alongside F1. The seven-round schedule will be spread across three continents, having only included one event outside Europe this year.

The 2024 campaign will begin in Jeddah on 7th-9th March. Saudi Arabia has recently attempted to embrace women’s sports following scrutiny and criticism of its strict rules regarding women’s freedoms and rights.

There is a two-month break before F1 Academy’s second round in Miami, then a return to Barcelona and Zandvoort, two circuits it visited this year.

Another support races at the Singapore Grand Prix in September means three of the seven rounds will take place on temporary circuits. The season concludes with back-to-back rounds in the Middle East at the start of December. Losail International Circuit hosts the penultimate round, then joins F1 and F2 for their season finales in Abu Dhabi.

Before the inaugural season had even begun, it was announced this March that F1 Academy would exclusively support grands prix next year. The 2024 F1 calendar was revealed in July.

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RoundF1 raceCircuitDate
1Saudi Arabian Grand PrixJeddah Corniche CircuitMar 7-9
2Miami Grand PrixMiami International AutodromeMay 3-5
3Spanish Grand PrixCircuit de CatalunyaJun 21-23
4Dutch Grand PrixZandvoortAug 23-25
5Singapore Grand PrixSingaporeSep 20-22
6Qatar Grand PrixLosail International CircuitNov 29-Dec 1
7Abu Dhabi Grand PrixYas MarinaDec 6-8

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Ida Wood
Often found in junior single-seater paddocks around Europe doing journalism and television commentary, or dabbling in teaching photography back in the UK. Currently based...

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15 comments on “F1 Academy confirms calendar for second season including Saudi Arabia opener”

  1. Ah yes, perfect venue for sportswashing our misogynistic regime away, like magic.

    1. Yeah, from the calendar it looks like the middle eastern autorcratic regimes are happy to pay to show how they have suddenly become fully supportive of rights for women by having the academy.

      I guess for the drivers it does not matter much, but starting off at such a high speed track with bad chances at seeing any incidents ahead might be a bit of a worry.

  2. Letting them race on all the wonderful classic circuits I see.

    Seriously. That is an awful calender in terms of circuit quality.

    Zandvoort is probably the only really great circuit & while Circuit De Catalunya isn’t great in terms of racing it is at least a pretty fun circuit to drive on. The rest are just dreadful.

    1. The ‘wonderful classic circuits’ have their schedules full with the real series, most with F2 & F3. The available time can’t accommodate another series with multiple races, qualifying and practice sessions.

  3. 7 races in a f4 car, hardly worth it
    F1 needs to get more serious if they want women to succeed in motorsport.
    Give them better cars and more race weekends and then there talent can be better seen

  4. What an uninspiring calendar. 42% of the races held in the Arabian Peninsula, which speaks volume$$$

    1. That is where there is free track time available, as F2 & F3 are not racing there.

  5. Seems a little ironic to open the all-female series in a country with an absolutely atrocious record on women’s rights…

    1. Ah, but they have been promoting how much they now let women drive @exediron, so all is good (wink, wink)

      1. Billy Rae Flop
        19th October 2023, 11:06

        If you’re going to be one of many who are told what to say and think but don’t even know it, at least try to be more than one dimensional. Yknow instead of coughing up “LEt wOmEN dRiVE” every time you can think of anything else to say. And see other comment.

        Perhaps if you have not lived there, or spoken to the people and the majority women there, then it’s pretty short sighted to tattoo yourself with rhetoric that is based on your spoon fed narrative’s.

    2. Billy Rae Flop
      19th October 2023, 11:01

      Seems like a great place to show an example of how women shouldn’t be treated and sex objects and used in vanity? Or an example of how women can be women and not men and an example of where women don’t have to give up their lives work and efforts in sports competition with biological males? An example of where women feel respected and are honoured by understanding their intrinsic needs?

  6. This is what it needs, live and alongside F1. And yes in the Middle East, where they need to have the example set! Hopefully we’ll get plenty of interviews.

    1. Billy Rae Flop
      19th October 2023, 10:59

      An example of how women shouldnt be treated and sex objects and used in vanity? Or an example of how women can be women and not men and an example of where women don’t have to give up their lives work and efforts in sports competition with biological males? An example of where women feel respected and are honoured by understanding their intrinsic needs?

      Yeah sounds like a good example

  7. Usual brain dead comments, surley if such a country is so awful when it comes to women rights they wouldn’t highlight such issues by having a women racing series? People act like there aren’t some big female arab motorsport racers in countries that have vastly moderinised just in the past 5 years. We in the west seem to be the enemies of progress whilst we curb our own rights these countries are actually opening up. Such series need the money, if that’s where the money is even better.

  8. Will they actually provide live coverage of it this year? Being part of the F1 race weekends I would hope so.

    15 minute highlight videos on Youtube, and very little else, was a horrible way to promote the series and grow interest this year.

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