Formula 1 has confirmed that the calendar for the next championship will include just 23 races this season, which still represents a record, with one race more than the calendar for the previous campaign.
This also means that the sport will have a four-week gap in April as the Formula One top management will not replace the Chinese Grand Prix.
The Shanghai event, initially scheduled for April 16 as the fourth round of the 2023 Formula One championship, was officially removed from the calendar last month, which means that for the fourth year in a row the Chinese Grand Prix will not take place as a result of the restrictions which were still in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Formula 1 confirmed that it was evaluating possible solutions to add another race on the calendar, as several venues expressed their interest including Portugal’s Portimao circuit that was used as a replacement in three years ago and also in 2021 for events cancelled due to the pandemic.
“Formula One can confirm the 2023 season will consist of 23 races. All existing race dates on the calendar remain unchanged,” the sport officially confirmed earlier today.
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The decision leaves a gap between round three, the Australian Grand Prix at the Albert Park circuit and the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit.
Sources confirmed for Reuters that the Chinese Grand Prix organisers tried to bring the Shanghai event back on the 2023 calendar after China dropped many of the ongoing restrictions but F1 explained sought it was already too late due to logistical reasons.
Bringing the event in Azerbaijan forward by seven days was an option taken into consideration.
The 2023 F1 campaign is also marked by the return of Qatar in October, a highly anticipated night event in Las Vegas in November and six race weekends which will be run based on the Sprint format.
The Singapore Grand Prix will take place on Sept 17, in between the Italian Grand Prix on Sept 3 and the Japanese race on Sept 24.
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