The Belgian Grand Prix will remain on the FIA Formula 1 World Championship calendar for at least one more season, although its place beyond 2023 remains uncertain.
The 2022 event could have been the last with the contract with the Spa-Francorchamps circuit expiring, and it saw Max Verstappen dominate despite having started fourteenth on the grid.
Spa’s presence on the calendar was made even more perilous with Formula 1 adding new venues across the globe, such as Las Vegas and Qatar, whilst also looking to return to South Africa for the first time since 1993 and the possible fist Chinese Grand Prix since before COVID-19 hit.
However, 2023 will now definitely see Formula 1 return to Belgium, whilst 2024 and beyond could see it go on a rotational cycle with another track. Previous calendar concepts have not included Spa, and there are no guarantees that it would host the first race after the summer break as it has done in recent years.
“Formula 1 can confirm that the Belgian Grand Prix will be on the 2023 calendar following an agreement to extend our partnership together,” said a statement on Sunday. “Further details on the 2023 calendar will be announced in due course.”
Spa had made recent updates to its facilities to make its case to remain on the calendar, and Formula 1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali, praised the organisers for the overhaul, which included the reprofiling of the run-off zones at La Source, Eau Rouge and Radillion.
“We have to congratulate the job [the organisers] did,” said Domenicali to Sky Sports F1. “You’ve seen the investment they did. You see the number of people that are coming here.
“Incredible crowd, incredible attention to the people, and this is great I think for the sport. We always said that the race is a part of our tradition, and it has a very important space in our calendar, and this is a fact that we wanted to share in this moment.”
The future of Spa may now be secured for at least one more season, but the futures of other races, such as the Monaco and French Grand Prix, remain up in the air.
