Formula 1 just announced its racing calendar for the 2024 season and it’s surely going to be the longest ever with 24 races slated globally throughout the year. The current 2023 season has 22 races on the calendar. The calendar introduces some major changes to the way races have been scheduled with a focus on sustainable goals, regionalization & reduction of logistical burden for the teams and F1 itself. The 2024 season is set to begin on February 29, 2023 with the Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain.
Biggest F1 Calendar Ever
With 24 races in the season, it will be the longest-ever, surpassing the last two seasons record of 22 races. The 2023 season was supposed to have 23 races in the calendar but the Emilia Romagna GP was cancelled due to flooding in the region. Also Read: Brad Pitt To Battle It Out At The 2023 British GP? Know The Details
China is making a return on the calendar for the first time after the pandemic since 2019. It is to be seen if next year’s Chinese Grand Prix becomes a reality as the venue did make an appearance on the last year’s calendar before being eventually being dropped.
The season will be hectic for the teams & the drivers given the tight scheduling and three triple headers in the calendar.
The Big Change: Three Race Saturdays
The first of two races of the opening rounds of the season will be held on a Saturday instead of Sunday. The Bahrain & the Saudi Arabian Grands Prix are to be held on a Saturday to accommodate for the beginning of Ramzan. Just like this year, Las Vegas Grand Prix will be held on Saturday as well.
Saturday races are nothing new to F1 and with the current trend they are making a return. The last Saturday race to be held was the 1985 South African GP.
The Other Changes
The Japanese GP has been shifted from its usually late in the season round to an early April slot. The Azerbaijan GP at Baku has been shifted to a later September 13-15 slot.
There will be three triple headers in the form of Spain-Austria-Britain, USA-Mexico-Brazil and Las 0Vegas-Qatar-Abu Dhabi.
The 2024 F1 Calendar
Feb 21-23: Pre-season test (Bahrain)February 29 - March 2: BahrainMarch 7-9: SaudiMarch 22-24: AustraliaApril 5-7: JapanApril 19-21: ChinaMay 3-5: MiamiMay 17-19: ImolaMay 24-26: MonacoJune 7-9: CanadaJune 21-23: SpainJune 28-30: AustriaJuly 5-7: BritainJuly 19-21: HungaryJuly 26-28: BelgiumAugust 23-25: NetherlandsAugust 30-September 1: ItalySeptember 13-15: AzerbaijanSeptember 20-22: SingaporeOctober 18-20: USAOctober 25-27: MexicoNovember 1-3: BrazilNovember 21-23: VegasNovember 29- December 1: QatarDecember 6-8: Abu Dhabi