The FIA’s World Motor Sport Council approved the biggest season calendar in the history of Formula One. The previous maximum amount of races per season was 20, but it could potentially be 21 races in 2016. However, there is an issue that could change this.
All of the dates of the racing schedule have been confirmed and approved for 2016. This includes the controversial European Grand Prix in Azerbaijan, which overlaps with the popular 24 Hours of Le Mans race. The sport was criticized when they released the provisional calendar earlier in the season, as it was considered to be a direct attack against the World Endurance Championship, Formula One’s biggest competition series currently. Although it has now been specified that the race time for the European Grand Prix will be adjusted so that it doesn’t conflict with the finish for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Formula One drivers will still be unable to compete in the prestigious event.
The 2016 season will start in Melbourne, Australia on the weekend of March 20. The season will end eight months later at the Yas Marina Circuit for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on November 27. The big additions to this season’s calendar will be the return of the German Grand Prix, after being removed for the 2015 season because of some financial issues at the Nürburgring. The event will be held at the Hockenheimring this season, as per their contract. The other big addition is the return of the European Grand Prix, scheduled to be held at the new Baku City Circuit in Azerbaijan.
The other big change to the Russian Grand Prix and the Malaysian Grand Prix. This year’s Russian Grand Prix will be held as round four of the championship, opposed to round fifteen. The Malaysian Grand Prix will be moved to the second half of the season, becoming round sixteen instead of round two. The rest of the calendar remains approximately the same, in terms of order.
The 2016 summer break is set for the month of August, as it was this year. As a result of an additional round in the championship – technically two rounds because of the German Grand Prix – the schedule has been condensed so that there is less time between races. In 2015, there were only two pairs of back-to-back race weekends. The 2016 season is set to have a whopping six pairs of back-to-back weekends. This will impact car development and make a nightmare for the team personnel responsible for shipping the team equipment to the events.
It is important to keep in mind that the season could still lose one round of the championship, as the United States Grand Prix is in serious doubt. The event organizers have failed to pay their hosting fee for this season’s event, as government funding for the event has been discontinued. The United States Grand Prix is added to the calendar, but is still pending confirmation. If an agreement is not reached soon, the event will most likely be removed from the calendar.
Nevertheless, the sport of Formula One is in for a packed schedule this season, with or without the United States Grand Prix.
