The calendar features 24 races and begins in Bahrain on March 2 and finishes in Abu Dhabi on December 8.
Formula 1 has announced the calendar for the 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship, approved by the World Motor Sport Council. The calendar features 24 races and begins in Bahrain on March 2 and finishes in Abu Dhabi on December 8.
By moving Japan to April, Azerbaijan to September and Qatar back-to-back with Abu Dhabi, this calendar creates a better flow of races in certain regions, and this work will continue while being realistic to the fact that as a world championship, with climatic and contractual constraints, there will always be travel required that cannot be completely regionalized.
For the opening two races of the season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, the Grand Prix will take place on a Saturday. This decision has been taken to accommodate Ramadan.
Speaking of the 2024 Formula 1 calendar announcement, Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1, said: “I am delighted to announce the 2024 calendar with 24 races that will deliver an exciting season for our fans around the world. There is huge interest and continued demand for Formula 1, and I believe this calendar strikes the right balance between traditional races and new and existing venues.”
“I want to thank all of the promoters and partners for their support and effort to achieve this great schedule. Our journey to a more sustainable calendar will continue in the coming years as we further streamline operations as part of our Net Zero 2030 commitment. We have plenty of racing to look forward to in 2023, including the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix, and our fans can look forward to more excitement next season.”
Formula 1 has made clear its intention to move towards greater calendar regionalization, reducing logistical burdens and making the season more sustainable.
“The planned 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship calendar, that has been approved by the Motor Sport Council Members, demonstrates some important steps towards our shared goals,” added Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President of the FIA.
“We want to make the global spectacle of Formula 1 more efficient in terms of environmental sustainability and more manageable for the traveling staff who dedicate so much of their time to our sport. Stefano Domenicali and his team have done a great job to both bring in new and exciting venues in emerging markets for Formula 1, and stay true to the sport’s long and remarkable heritage.”
“Each race can only happen thanks to the collaboration between the FIA, FOM, the promoters, and the host ASNs who bring together the thousands of volunteer marshals and support personnel so that we can go racing, and as we forge ahead into the future we must ensure that our priorities grow and develop with the needs of society and what is best for our sport, our fans and our environment.”
Three key stand outs from the 2024 F1 calendar.
The season begins with two Saturday races
For the first time since 1985, a full World Championship Grand Prix will take place on a day other than Sunday this year when the lights go out for the much-anticipated inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix at 10pm local time on Saturday 18 November 2023.
In 2024, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia will join Las Vegas in making it three Saturday races on the calendar, the former two accommodating Ramadan, a period of fasting, prayer and reflection observed by Muslims around the world, which begins on Sunday March 10 – one day after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
It means everything will shift forward a day for the opening two events, with the media day taking place on Wednesday, the opening two free practice sessions on Thursday, FP3 and qualifying on Friday and the main event – the Grand Prix – on Saturday.
Races move position to support regionalization.
Formula 1 calendars are complicated things, with some races needing to be at certain times of year otherwise it’ll be too hot or too cold to go racing.
It makes slotting each race into the calendar an interesting challenge.
In the pursuit of a more regionalized calendar, which in turn will make the sport more sustainable, three races have moved position for 2024.
The Japanese Grand Prix is the biggest mover, switching from a September date to April – in the heart of the country’s beautiful cherry blossom season.
Freight can now move from Australia to Japan and then onto China to improve the efficiencies of travelling.
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix moves from an April slot to September and is the first of a back-to-back with Singapore.
And finally, Qatar shifts from October to the first weekend of December as a stop-off from Las Vegas on the way to Abu Dhabi.
Formula 1 set for bumper 24-race calendar.
China is set to make its first appearance on the F1 calendar since 2019 – its absence down to the ongoing difficulties presented by Covid-19.
That means F1 will have a bumper 24 races – with the traditional three-week summer break remaining in August, plus an additional three-week pause between Singapore and Austin and a two-week breather between Brazil and Las Vegas.