The FIA’s World Motor Sport Council met on Monday to discuss, among other things, the 2018 Formula One schedule. With 21 races back on the calendar, the 2018 season will be one of the busiest in history, hosting the first ever triple-header.
The season will start in Australia, as it has done for many years now, on March 25. This is followed by the Chinese Grand Prix on April 8 and the Bahrain Grand Prix the following weekend for the season’s double-header. The Russian Grand Prix relinquishes its spot at the start of the season, allowing the Azerbaijan Grand Prix to be held on April 29.
May will host two races: the Spanish Grand prix on May 13 and the Monaco Grand Prix on May 27. The teams and drivers then hop over the Canada for the Canadian Grand Prix and the final race before the start of the European stint in the calendar. The race in Canada will be held on June 10.
June 24 will mark the return of the French Grand Prix at the Circuit Paul Ricard after a decade absent from the sport. This also marks the start of the first ever triple-header in Formula One history, with the Austrian Grand Prix and British Grand Prix following.
After no German Grand Prix due to the financial situation at the Nürburgring, the German Grand Prix returns in 2018, as it’s the Hockenheimring’s turn to host the grand prix. The race will be held on July 22. The following race in Hungary will be another back-to-back weekend for the sport and also mark the start of the summer break.
After having the month off for summer break, teams will return to action in Belgium for the Belgian Grand Prix on August 26. This will be followed by another back-to-back weekend, with the Italian Grand Prix taking place just one week after the race in Belgium.
Singapore marks the end of the European season, assuming there is a Singapore Grand Prix, as the event’s organizers are debating whether to renew their Formula One contract past 2017. The Russian Grand Prix will take place at the end of September, returning to its original position in the schedule.
October will host the race in Japan on October 7, followed by a double-header featuring the United States Grand Prix and Mexican Grand Prix on October 21 and 28. Two weeks later, the penultimate round of the championship in Brazil will be held.
The season closes out with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, as usual, on November 25.
The schedule may be subject to change, as the Chinese Grand Prix and Singapore Grand Prix have yet to be confirmed due to the uncertainty of their contract renewals. As for the disappearance of the Malaysian Grand Prix, the organizers decided not to continue their Formula One venture.
