Formula 1 will not replace the cancelled VC of Russia! This season will have 22 races

The Formula One World Championship had planned to run a record 23 races this year. But at the end of February, the decision was made to cancel the Russian Grand Prix due to the war in Ukraine. However, Formula 1 management announced that it would not replace the Sochi race after all. This year, there will most likely be “only” 22 Grands Prix.

This is the third year in a row that Formula 1 has failed to meet its original plans for the number of races to be run in a season. The 2020 edition promised a record 22 Grands Prix for that year, with new destinations in Vietnam and the Netherlands.

However, all plans were scuppered by the coronavirus pandemic and fans were biting their nails during the first month of the pandemic wondering if any races would even be run that year.

In the end, Formula 1 managed to kick off a 17-race season. It started at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, the first ever doubleheader in the championship’s history. Due to restrictions, the two races at the same venue were also held at Silverstone in the UK and Sakhir in Bahrain.

Everyone hoped that the following year’s event would happily return to the established patterns. In purely mathematical terms, it did – twenty-two races were held in the 2021 season out of the twenty-three originally planned.

Had it not been for the war in Ukraine, Formula 1 would have broken the record for the number of grand prix races run in a single season again this year. The race track inside the former Olympic complex in Sochi was to make its final showing before F1 made its first appearance at the Igor Drive circuit near St Petersburg. However, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine gave Formula 1 management no choice.

However, the Russian Grand Prix was first postponed indefinitely at the end of February and it was not until almost three months later that the race was officially cancelled. According to the latest information, the queen of motorsport will not be looking for a replacement instead of the Russian race.

Most likely, there will be 22 grand prix races this year, with the traditional finale in Abu Dhabi on November 20. The very next day, the attention of nearly three billion sports fans will be fully focused on the football World Cup in Qatar.

Monaco’s Charles Leclerc leads the championship after five races with 104 points. However, Max Verstappen is breathing down his neck with 85 points after victories at Imola and Miami. Sergio Pérez is in third place with 66 points. The sixth Grand Prix of the season takes place this weekend in Montmeló, Spain, near Barcelona.

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