Motorsport

What could the Formula 1 calendar look like for 2023? 24 Grands Prix, France out, China and Qatar in, 6 sprint weekends

Published

2 years ago

2. 8. 2022

Zdroj: Bryn Lennon, Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

We’ll have to wait a few more months before the official release of the calendar for the upcoming Formula 1 World Championship season. But it’s already clear that we’re likely to see some old friends in the form of China and Qatar in the 2023 edition. We’ll also welcome a new grand prix in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, but we’ll probably lose the birthplace of the first ever grand prix in 1906 – France.

Let’s speculate what the layout of venues might look like for next year’s edition. By all accounts, we could see thirty races (including sprints) in the next F1 season.

Start in the Middle East, then head east

The season is likely to start where the last two editions of F1 began, with Bahrain’s Sakhir circuit replacing the traditional start of the season in Melbourne, Australia, due to strict restrictions against the spread of coronavirus in counterparts.

However, the Bahrain Grand Prix objectively offered a better spectacle than the city’s Albert Park circuit, and race starts in Australia are not exactly friendly to European and American spectators. Add to that the magic of a nighttime grand prix under artificial lighting and you have the perfect cocktail in the form of a spectacular opening to the new season.

As Bahrain offers great racing every year, it might not be out of place to host the first sprint of the season here. Hundreds of thousands of new fans will be excited for a double helping of racing right from the start, so from an economic and business perspective it would be quite advantageous to start the season with a sprint weekend.

Logically, it makes sense to move to Saudi Arabia for the second round of the 2023 F1 World Championship. It is not yet known for sure whether it will continue at the super-fast circuit in Jeddah or at the new purpose-built circuit.

Some time ago there was speculation about the Qiddiya mega project near Riyadh, which would include a race circuit of more than seven kilometres. However, as no news about this project has emerged, it is safe to assume that Jeddah will remain the venue for the Saudi Grand Prix.

F1 would head towards Australia after the desert doubleheader at Albert Park. This year, changes to the circuit’s design saw the light of day. Gone was the chicane at turns nine and ten and generally the circuit was widened in several places to give drivers more room to overtake and choose different tracks.

Next, the circus would move to China for race number four. The circuit near Shanghai was first introduced in 2004 and due to the coronavirus pandemic, the last grand prix was held three years ago as the 1000th race in Formula One history.

But with the ever-present measures in the world’s most populous country, it doesn’t look like an international event will be held here at the moment, even though China has a contract with F1.

the “European” part of the season

For the fifth event, we would probably head to Imola for the first race in Europe. The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix officials have signed a contract with F1 until 2025. This would also be the venue for the second sprint of the season. However, both of this year’s races have shown that the Imola track is not one to be overtaken extensively.

After that, there’s not much choice but to leave Europe and head to Miami. Hurricane season starts in early June, so there’s not much room to put the big prize in the Hard Rock Stadium.

The seventh race of the season would likely be held in Spain at the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit. Again, there’s not much else when to host this grand prix. The summer months are out of the question due to weather and other European races, and the spring and fall months are hopelessly occupied with other grand prizes.

June would still be acceptable, but there would have to be an agreement with the MotoGP series, which organises its own grand prix at the Barcelona circuit in the first half of June.

The last weekend of May traditionally belongs to the Monaco race. It is not certain at the moment whether this historic grand prix will be part of the calendar for next year. However, it is to be expected that the race promoter in the principality will ease its demands for F1. Monaco is a very important venue and F1 serves as a huge advertisement for this micro-region, although the races are mostly without overtaking.

The races in Azerbaijan and Canada are a headache for the Formula 1 calendar. Fans and pundits don’t understand why F1 has to move from Europe to North America, then to West Asia, and finally back to Europe. The main reason here again is the weather.

Canada is held in June because temperatures outside the summer months are not suitable for F1 racing (although recall the 7°C for the race in Germany two years ago). And the promoters of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix have let it be known that June is ideal for them because of the long preparations for the circuit.

This would be followed by the traditional July races in the UK at Silverstone, in Austria at the Red Bull Ring and in Hungary at the Hungaroring. Silverstone would then host the third sprint of the year. After this year’s spectacular show, we could be sure that this circuit is perfect for overtaking.

The four-week summer break has many advantages. Members of all the teams and officials of the sport can relax and the fans have the opportunity to plan their holidays outside the grand prix weekends.

The circuit at Spa-Francorchamps has millions of admirers who will proudly proclaim that it is the most beautiful circuit in the world. Even though it hasn’t exactly offered exciting races in recent years, it’s still a traditional track that deserves a place on the calendar. However, its future is not rosy, and it seems likely that only at the cost of France will Spa keep a narrow hold on the F1 calendar.

The Dutch Grand Prix and the Italian Grand Prix would then follow, along with Belgium, in a so-called “triple-header” of three races right after each other. The event at Monza in Italy would also witness a fourth sprint weekend. Monza hosted a sprint race last year that didn’t bring much action on the track, but that was partly due to the still old regulations. This tripleheader would bring the European season to a close and Formula One would take a turn towards Asia.

The final third of the season

Long-time fans have become accustomed to the European season being followed by races in East Asia in the form of races in Singapore and Japan. Russia will most likely never return, something many will be relieved to hear after a series of very uninspiring races in Sochi.

Surprisingly, the next race could already be the Brazilian Grand Prix, including Saturday’s sprint. The last time Formula 1 cars raced around the Interlagos circuit in October was in 2009. This change would be caused by a three-race series on the North American continent starting with the Mexican Grand Prix.

Next up would be a race near Austin at the Circuit of the Americas, and a week later Formula One would visit Las Vegas for the first time in 41 years. The race would be held there under artificial lighting on an unusual Saturday night local time. For Europeans, that still means the race will be run on Sunday, but early in the morning. Las Vegas could also make the whole weekend more interesting with a final sprint race on Friday night/Saturday morning.

Finally, F1 would head to the Middle East for the return of Qatar and finally to Abu Dhabi. In both cases, the races would also be run under artificial lighting. In the case of Qatar, it is not yet certain whether they will run them at the Losail circuit, where the debut grand prix was held, or at a brand new circuit.

So this is what the Formula 1 calendar for 2023 could look like (including the dates of each race)::