2018 F1 Calendar Announced: France and Germany Return

Formula One’s new owner Liberty Media Group has continued to make its presence felt as the calendar for the 2018 F1 season has been announced months earlier than usual.

The calendar has been approved by the FIA but won’t be officially ratified until later this year. From what we can see, next year’s line up of Grands Prix looks very enticing to the fans.

The Early Bird Gets the Worm

A record-equaling twenty-one races grace next year’s World Championship as the season starts in Australia on March 25 and ends exactly eight months later in Abu Dhabi on November 25.

Traditionally, F1 announces the following year’s preliminary F1 calendar nearer the end of the season. This time around, however, Liberty Media has decided to get it out early with the aim of providing stability.

Formula One Chairman and CEO Chase Carey said, “We wanted to finalize next season’s calendar early, so that all our stakeholders would have more time to prepare and we have managed it, thanks in part through working closely with the FIA.”

Guess Who’s Back? Back Again

The big news is the return of the German and French Grands Prix after monetary disputes derailed both countries’ Formula One events. Alternating between the Nurburgring and Hockenheim, attendance has been poor at the German Grand Prix in recent years. The race was absent from the 2015 calendar with the teams skipping it this year as well. The event will return next year at Hockenheim. Whether it’s a permanent home for the German race remains to be seen.

The French Grand Prix — arguably the home of motor racing and certainly where it all began — will return at the Circuit Paul Ricard. The last time France held a Formula One event was in 2008, marking a ten year gap in between races when the F1 circus rolls in next June. The FIA considered Magny Cours circuit — the last location of the French Grand Prix — but the Circuit Paul Ricard’s close proximity to the major French city of Marseilles was likely factored into the decision.

Summer of Speed

The other headline from the calendar is the sport’s first ever triple-header. The aforementioned French Grand Prix kick starts three consecutive weekends of motor racing with the Austrian Grand Prix and British Grand Prix on the subsequent weekends.

A joy for the fans, this may result in headaches for the teams as they endeavor to ship their gear between three different locations in three straight weeks. In fact summer 2018 will bring us five Formula One races in six weeks!

Check Your Schedule

With 21 Grands Prix on offer next year, there were always going to be clashes. A man that might be checking his diary for next year is Fernando Alonso. If he wants another shot at Indy 500 glory, he’ll have to repeat his absence from the Monaco Grand Prix. The two historic events take place on the same day once again: May 27.

In regards to other major motor races, the ACO has not yet announced the date of the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans. However, it typically takes place on the third weekend of June so we don’t expect a clash. Perhaps Fernando can try his hand at this portion of the coveted Triple Crown instead?

Places Are Limited

You might notice some asterisks on the calendar below. This is because the heads of the Chinese and Singapore Grands Prix have yet to come to terms with F1 Group on a deal for next year. This could see the calendar drop to nineteen races if things don’t work out. Having said that, talks are still in the early stages.

Other countries appear to be chomping at the bit to join the F1 circus as CEO Chase Carey has received “numerous requests” from other interested parties. The calendar is already chock-a-block at 21 races, though the FIA has recently floated the idea of a 25-event championship. Fernando Alonso has vowed not to compete in Formula One if this occurs because of the impact it will have on the teams. An understandable stance since the team members hardly get to see their families as it is.

Liberty Media is also looking to open its doors to more venues in the United States in the future such as Miami and Las Vegas, as well as other countries around the world. While this may please many of the fans, certain team members and a very important driver seem to wholeheartedly disagree.

2018 Formula One World Championship Provisional Calendar

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