Wednesday evening saw the last FIA World Motor Sport Council of 2020 take place in Geneva, Switzerland – where they have made some of the decisions regarding all of the FIA series for the next season.
Earlier we have seen a part of how the Formula 1 calendar would look like and now the official provisional calendar has been revealed, which is featuring a total of twenty-three races, the most ever in a single Formula 1 season.
The season will be kicking off with the annual Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on 21 March before continuing in the Asia-Pacific region with the Bahrain Grand Prix in Sahkir on 28 March and the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai on 11 April.
The fourth round is still yet to be announced, with the Vietnamese Grand Prix dropping off the calender and its replacement for the weekend of 23-25 April still unknown. Rumours are saying that one of the events that jumped onto the calendar for 2020 could be the venue, with the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve looking as favourite.
Then it´s a trip to Europe when the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona that awaits on 9 May – this round is still under the subject of promoter agreement so it may or may or not be featured in the final calendar we will see in due course. Followed after the race in Spain will be the legendary Monaco Grand Prix that is taking part around the world-famous city circuit on 23 May.
After Monaco there will be small visit to Asia again where the Azerbaijan Grand Prix will be held on 6 June at Baku. After the short visit in Europe and Asia, there will be a one-way trip over the sea to Canada for the Canadian Grand Prix on 13 June, followed by a return back to Europe where France will be hosting on 27 June.
The Austrian Grand Prix held at the Red Bull Ring will be on 4 July followed by Great Britain on 18 July. The final race before the summer break will be the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring will be on 1 August.
After the short break they are visiting the famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium on 29 August. Returning to this year´s calendar will be this year´s newcomer Zandvoort in The Netherlands – which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the race will take place on 5 September, while on 12 September the Italian Grand Prix awaits with Monza completing a triple header of races.
The final European round will be held at Sochi Autodrom in Russia on 26 September, with the Singapore and Japanese Grand Prix forming races two and three of the second and final triple header of the season. Both Singapore and Japan are making welcome returns after missing out on races in 2020 due to COVID-19.
Then it´s back to North America for the United States of American Grand Prix at the Circuit of The Americas on 24 October, the Mexican Grand Prix on 31 October and finishing off with a visit to South America and Brazil on 14 November.
Saudi Arabia is a new country added for this year´s calendar, the Jeddah circuit will be held on 28 December nearby the sunny and warm dessert – this round is still a subject to circuit homologation as it is a brand-new track. The season will be ending with the annual Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina on 5 December.
The provisional 2021 calendar for Formula 1
21 March | Australia | Melbourne |
28 March | Bahrain | Sakhir |
11 April | China | Shanghai |
25 April | TBC | TBC |
9 May | Spain | Barcelona** |
23 May | Monaco | Monaco |
6 June | Azerbaijan | Baku |
13 June | Canada | Montreal |
27 June | France | Le Castellet |
4 July | Austria | Spielberg |
18 July | Great Britain | Silverstone |
1 August | Hungary | Budapest |
29 August | Belgium | Spa-Francorchamps |
5 September | Netherlands | Zandvoort |
12 September | Italy | Monza |
26 September | Russia | Sochi |
3 October | Singapore | Singapore |
10 October | Japan | Suzuka |
24 October | USA | Austin |
31 October | Mexico | Mexico City |
14 November | Brazil | São Paulo |
28 November | Saudi Arabia | Jeddah* |
5 December | Abu Dhabi | Yas Marina |
*Subject to circuit homologation
**Subject to promoter agreement