The Calendar for the 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship has been revealed, with the calendar being expanded from 21 races to 23.
The 2020 F1 Season was meant to have 21 races but the pandemic meant that things had to change and a number of European replacement races were drafted in to replace the Australian and the Americas leg of the calendar, leaving 17 races in just five months.
The 2021 season will hopefully begin on March 21st in Melbourne, Australia, which retains the honour of being the opening race of the season if you compared it to the original 2020 calendar. The 2020 event was very close to taking place with teams at the race track before a positive COVID-19 test with the McLaren team led to the event being cancelled, much to the disappointment of the thousands of fans gathered at the gates of the circuit.
Sakhir, Bahrain remains the second race of the calendar if you compare it to the original 2020 one, with the two races at the end of the 2020 season being a one-off event. This event is scheduled to take place on March 28.
The Chinese Grand Prix will take place on April 11, with the 2020 event being one of the first to be postponed due to the pandemic. It was then ultimately left off the revised 2020 calendar.
The Vietnam Grand Prix has been left off the 2021 calendar, and BBC Sport is reporting that this is due to corruption charges brought against an organiser of the event. This event has never actually been held before, with 2020 being the inaugural race. There are talks of return in 2022 but for now, the people of Vietnam must wait on a home race.
As there is no race on April 25th, Formula One is hoping to add an extra race to fill that gap. It is reported by BBC Sport that one of the replacement races from the 2020 season will be added to the calendar, with Turkey, Imola and Portimao the current front-runners.
The Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona will follow either the Chinese Grand Prix or a Grand Prix at one of the 2020 substitute tracks on May 9. This is the track that will be used for pre-season testing and returns to its usual time slot after being on August 16th during the 2020 season.
The historic Monaco Grand Prix returns to the F1 calendar on May 23, after not running during the 2020 season. This will also round-off a busy period for the Principality with the Historic Grand Prix, the Formula E Monaco e-Prix and the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix all taking place within a month.
The F1 circus then goes from one street circuit to another and to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on June 6th. This is another circuit that was dropped from the revised 2020 calendar but the race around the streets of Baku is back for another year, after becoming a permanent fixture on the F1 calendar in 2017. The race had been on the calendar the year before, running under the European Grand Prix name.
F1 then heads over to Canada and to Montreal on June 13, with the race returning to the calendar after also being dropped from the revised 2020 calendar.
The race in Canada is followed by the French Grand Prix on June 27, another race that didn’t feature on the revised 2020 calendar.
The revised 2020 season opener in Austria returns to its usual July slot with the race around Spielberg taking place on July 4. There will only be one race at the Red Bull Ring this time around.
After having a double-header for races three and four of the season at Silverstone, the British Grand Prix will take place on July 18, a week after the final of the men’s singles at Wimbledon and the final of Euro 2020 at Wembley Stadium.
The Hungaroring becomes the third race in a row to feature on the revised 2020 calendar, but instead of it being in July it makes it into August and no more with the Grand Prix taking place on August 1.
The Belgian Grand Prix is another race that survived in the 2020 season, with August 29 playing host to the Grand Prix around Spa-Francorchamps.
Zandvoort makes its second attempt at an F1 revival on September 5, with the event in 2020 being cancelled due to the organisers wanting fans present for the return of the event.
The Italian Grand Prix at Monza is a week later in the 2021 season on September 12th, with the 2020 race surviving on the revised calendar. It might be the only race in Italy during the 2021 season, despite having three races in the country during 2020.
The Russian Grand Prix in Sochi also retains its place on the calendar, with the race being around the same dates as the race in 2020.
Marina Bay in Singapore returns to the calendar after a years absence in 2020, with the Grand Prix taking place on October 3.
The United States Grand Prix also makes a return to the calendar, with the race in Austin, Texas being held on October 23.
That race kicks off the Americas leg of the calendar, which returns in 2021, with the Mexican Grand Prix taking place on October 31.
The Brazilian Grand Prix takes place on November 14 but more importantly will take place in Interlagos and not the new potential circuit in Rio de Janeiro that has been reported. This race is still requiring promoter agreement.
November 28 sees the penultimate race of the season and a new addition to the F1 calendar. The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will take place for the first time but has already come under fire for ethical and cultural issues within the country.
The 2021 F1 season will conclude with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 5th, the final race under the current technical regulations, potentially bringing an end of an era of Mercedes dominance and the careers of some of the most talented drivers we have ever seen.