F1 announces 24-race calendar for 2023, French GP out, Monaco and Belgium set to stay

Formula 1 has announced the record-breaking 24-race calendar for the 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship, which has been approved by the World Motor Sport Council.

The 2023 season will kick off on March 5 - an earlier start than usual - in Bahrain before heading to Saudi Arabia.

Following the Australian Grand Prix, the Chinese Grand Prix will make its return for the first time since 2019 on April 16. The championship will then move to the United States of America for the second ever Miami Grand Prix before it heads back to Italy for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix that will take place a week prior to Monaco.

In the meanwhile, Formula 1 has also confirmed that it will continue to race in the Principality until 2025 after a new three-year agreement was finalised with the Automobile Club of Monaco (ACM).

Michel Boeri, President of the Automobile Club of Monaco, added: “In the interest of the Formula One World Championship, and after several months of negotiations, we are proud to announce that we have signed a three-year agreement with Formula One, and likely to be renewed.”

Following the Monaco Grand Prix, the field will move to Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix before making the long trip to Canada. Austria will move forward by a week, kicking off the intense month of July that will incororate four races within just five weeks.

Great Britain will be next on the schedule before the championship pops up in Hungary with the Hungarian Grand Prix losing the spot of the last race before the summer break which will now be occupied by Belgium.

Atter the restart, the Dutch Grand Prix will kick off the third leg of the season with the Italian Grand Prix twinned with Zandvoort.

Singapore and Japan are set to host races at the end of September before Qatar returns on the 8th of October. The USA will host its second race in Texas at the end of October before the field makes the relatively short trip to Mexico.

Following the Brazilian Grand Prix at Sao Paulo, Las Vegas will make its debut on November 18 - round 23 of the calendar, just before the finale in Abu Dhabi.

Scheduled to take place in Las Vegas the week before Thanksgiving on November 18, the Las Vegas Grand Prix will see unprecedented levels of F1 activity and events, with Practice on Thursday, November 16 and Qualifying on Friday, November 17, ahead of the Saturday night race. Taking place at night against the iconic Las Vegas backdrop, the track will see drivers reach jaw-droppingpeeds of over 340kph as they race around some of the world’s most iconic landmarks, hotels and casinos on the legendary Las Vegas Strip.

Speaking of the announcement of the calendar, Formula 1 CEO and President Stefano Domenicali said: “We are excited to announce the 2023 calendar with 24 races around the world. Formula 1 has unprecedented demand to host races and it is important we get the balance right for the entire sport.

“We are very pleased with the strong momentum Formula 1 continues to experience and it is great news that we will be able to bring our passionate fans a mix of exciting new locations such as Las Vegas to the Championship with much loved venues across Europe, Asia and the Americas.”

Speaking about the new calendar, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, said: “The presence of 24 races on the 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship calendar is further evidence of the growth and appeal of the sport on a global scale.

"The addition of new venues and the retention of traditional events underlines the FIA’s sound stewardship of the sport. I am delighted that we will be able to take Formula 1’s new era of exciting racing, created by the FIA’s 2022 Regulations, to a broader fan base in 2023. In framing the 2023 F1 calendar, WMSC Members have also been mindful of the timing of the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans.”