Formula 1 is stopping for an autumn break, but why is there a three-week stop before Austin? The next World Championship event is scheduled for October 20 at the Circuit of The Americas in Texas. It will be the first leg of a continental triple-header, which will then continue in Mexico City on October 27 and conclude in Interlagos on November 3.
The traditional summer break, which halts the series activities in August, is not enough: this season, Formula 1 fans will once again have to wait several weeks to see the cars back on track. After the Singapore Grand Prix, won by Lando Norris, the next stop in the Championship will be Austin, after three long weeks of downtime.
This situation, in truth, already occurred last season: in 2023, the “extra break” happened in spring with the cancellation of the Chinese Grand Prix. But why will there be such a long pause this year as well? The explanation is simple: the Qatar Grand Prix, which received much criticism in its previous edition for the excessive heat, has been postponed to December.
The 2023 Formula 1 edition of the Losail Grand Prix sparked numerous controversies in the paddock: from the “killer curbs,” which forced Pirelli and the FIA to implement safety measures for tire management, to the terribly hot weather, which severely tested the drivers. To avoid a repeat of the same conditions, the race in Qatar will take place this year on December 1, the penultimate stop of the Championship.
The Losail slot has not been filled by any other organizer in the calendar. However, Liberty Media has already taken steps to prevent such a long break from happening again in 2025: next season, Azerbaijan and Singapore, which were part of this year’s double-header, will be separated, with the Marina Bay race scheduled for October.
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