Australian Grand Prix brought forward as record season on cards with return of Chinese F1 GP
Formula 1 is again aiming for a record 24-race calendar in 2024, with China set to return to the schedule for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic broke.
With no other new events added, the planned roster is remarkably similar to the original 2023 line-up, which is now destined to run to no more than 22 races following the early cancellation of China and the last-minute decision to skip the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola due to record local flooding.
Interestingly, this year’s Saturday night debut on the streets of the Las Vegas strip has paved the way for further Saturday night GPs in 2024, with the season-opening Middle Eastern pair of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia both set to be held on Saturdays, with the Saudi race shifting to accommodate Ramadan.
Bahrain has subsequently been moved to maintain a seven-day gap between races, while that venue will once again host official pre-season testing from February 21-23.
The timing of the calendar will see more events grouped by region to minimise travel, such as the opening Middle Eastern doubleheader, Azerbaijan and Singapore, Circuit of the Americas (COTA), Mexico and Brazil, with a week’s gap to Las Vegas.
The year ends with another Middle Eastern doubleheader in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
The December 8 finish to the season will ensure a short off-season, although it is slightly earlier than the 2021 finale, which was contested on December 12.
The F1 calendar drop may also have cemented the first pieces of the 2024 Supercars schedule, with Albert Park slated for March 21-24 – a week earlier than this year.
The 2023 AGP marked the end of Supercars’ current contract with the event, however a two-year extension clause may be activated.
This could conceivably see the category make Melbourne its second meet for the season, pending confirmation of a renewal of the Newcastle Street Race.
Elsewhere, paddock speculation has Supercars again making a play to be on the Singapore Grand Prix undercard, with that race set for September 22.
Logistically, it is close to the traditional Bathurst 1000 date, and would mean that a prospective Sandown 500 two-driver race would have to run out of sequence on the calendar, a programming quirk that has not occurred since 2001.
This weekend, F1 returns to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix, while Supercars takes to the Townsville Street Circuit for the NTI 500.
2024 Formula 1 calendar:
March 2 – Bahrain
March 9 – Saudi Arabia
March 24 – Australia
April 7 – Japan
April 21 – China
May 5 – Miami
May 19 – Emilia Romagna, Imola
May 26 – Monaco
June 9 – Canada
June 23 – Spain
June 30 – Austria
July 7 – Great Britain
July 21 – Hungary
July 28 – Belgium
August 25 – Netherland
September 1 – Italy
September 15 – Azerbaijan
September 22 – Singapore
October 20 – USA, COTA
October 27 – Mexico
November 3 – Brazil
November 23 – Las Vegas
December 1 – Qatar
December 8 – Abu Dhabi
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Keyword: 2024 Formula 1 calendar revealed