A record calendar which will begin with two Grands Prix on Saturday: in 2024, Formula 1 will begin its 24-race marathon with two GPs contested on Saturday in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, a rare program in F1 which adapts to Ramadan. Disputed on the legendary Spa-Francorchamps route, the Belgian Grand Prix, a time threatened, retains its place next season according to the calendar published on Wednesday by the International Automobile Federation (FIA).
Bahrain will host the inaugural race for the fourth consecutive year (March 2) and should still be the scene of pre-season testing, from February 21 to 23, although no decision has yet been made official. The paddock will then stop the following weekend in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on the occasion of a GP which will also be held there on Saturday, a “decision taken to adapt to Ramadan”, which will start on Monday 11 March, said the FIA.
Three races in the United States
Like this year, the 2024 calendar will include three Grands Prix in the United States with Miami (May 5), Austin (October 20) and Las Vegas on November 23 – which will also take place on a Saturday night. Two races will take place in Italy, on Scuderia Ferrari land: at Monza for the traditional Italian GP (May 19) and at Imola for the Emilia-Romagna GP on September 1.
“There is huge interest and continued demand for Formula 1 and in my view this calendar strikes the right balance between traditional races and new ones,” F1 boss Stefano Domenicali said in a statement. In addition, this record season features three “triple headers” (three GPs in three weeks) and will end on December 8 in Abu Dhabi.
China back
The FIA also confirmed on Wednesday the maintenance of the Belgian Grand Prix, a time threatened by the arrival of the South African GP from 2023 – then 2024. Like this year, it will be contested the last weekend of July. In the list of the most frequently run Grand Prix in the world championship since 1950, the Belgian GP is in 4th place with 67 editions in 73 F1 seasons. The Spa circuit alone has hosted the event 55 times since 1950 – and will be the scene of a 56th edition on July 30th.
The “Concorde Accords”, which govern F1’s governance and distribution of revenue, limit the number of Grand Prix events to 24 in a season. In 2023, 24 races were already scheduled but the Emilia-Romagna GP could not take place due to the floods that affected this region of northern Italy in May. The Chinese GP, which was to be held in April, was canceled due to restrictions linked to Covid-19, had not been replaced. The restrictions having been lifted at the end of 2022, the race, disputed since 2004 in Shanghai, will indeed return to the F1 calendar next year after five years of absence due to the pandemic.
The advanced Japanese GP
Another notable change, the Japanese GP, traditionally contested in October on the mythical Suzuka track (in sometimes dantesque conditions due to the rain) has been brought forward to April. The Azerbaijan GP will be held in September with a view to “regionalizing” the races in order to limit the impact of travel on the environment.
“By moving Japan to April, Azerbaijan to September and Qatar to just before Abu Dhabi, this calendar creates a better distribution of races in certain regions,” the FIA and promoter Formula One said in a joint statement. France, which had disappeared from the calendar in 2023 after four editions at Le Castellet (2018-2022), will however always be deprived of a race.