Formula One has announced its calendar for the 2024 season, which will see the season open in Bahrain and come to a close with the now-traditional Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
There are no new circuits for the 2024 season, with Imola and China making a return following the cancellation of their events in 2023. China was dropped before the start of the season and Imola was cancelled just hours before the event was due to start because of local flooding.
The calendar is a logistical nightmare for organiers, but with the series aiming towards becoming a net-zero brand, there was a need for better structuring and regionalisation, something that has been improved on for 2024.
Some of the biggest changes have been moving Japan to April, Azerbaijan to September and Qatar becoming a back-to-back race with Abu Dhabi.
The opening two races of the season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia will also take place on a Saturday to accommodate Ramadan, with the on-track race weekend beginning on the Thursday rather than Friday.
The Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain will play host to the opening round of the FIA Formula One World Championship from the 29th February to the 2nd March.
The F1 circus will then head to Saudi Arabia on the 7th-9th March ebfpre going down under to Australia on the 22nd-24th March.
Round four and five will see the Championship head to Asia for the Japanese Grand Prix on the 5th-7th of April and the Chineese Grand Prix on the 19th-21st April.
The first round in the United States of America will take place on the 3rd-5th May, with Miami being the venue, before the start of the European leg begging in Imola on the 17th-19th May.
Monte-Carlo will play host to the historic Monaco Grand Prix on the 24th-26th May before the flyaway to Canada that interrupts the European season takes place on the 7th-9th of June.
The Spanish Grand Prix takes place in a later June date, with the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya playing host to F1 on the 21st-23rd June for the first part of a triple header.
The Austrian Grand Prix on the 28th-30th of June is followed by the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on the 5th-7th of July, which will mark the completion of the opening half of the season.
However, the Summer break will not take place until after the Hungarian Grand Prix on the 19th-21st of July and the Belgian Grand Prix on the 26th-28th of July.
Formula One will return just under a month later with the Dutch Grand Prix taking place on the 23rd-25th August, before the Italian Grand Prix takes place at Monza between the 30th August-1st September.
Round 17 of the season will be the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which will take place on the 13th-15th September, before making the trip to Singapore on the 20th-22nd of September.
The Circuit of the Americas hosts the second of three American rounds, with the United States Grand Prix taking place on the 18th-20th October.
Sao Paulo will be the host for the next race, with F1 taking place in Brazil on the 1st-3rd November, before Las Vegas takes over on the 21st-23rd November.
Then the season heads towards its conclusion with the Qatar Grand Prix taking place on the 29th-November-1st December, before the season concludes with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on the 6th-8th December.
Speaking about the 2024 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.”
Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President of the FIA, said:
“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. We want to make the global spectacle of Formula 1 more efficient in terms of environmental sustainability and more manageable for the travelling 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.”