The 2023 Formula 1 calendar will hit a new high of 24 races unless one or more of this year’s events do not return.
F1 confirmed yesterday a new race in Las Vegas will join the schedule in November next year. The Qatar Grand Prix, which was held for the first time last year but is not on the 2022 F1 calendar, is also due to return.
The cancellation of Russia’s contract to hold F1 races following the country’s invasion of Ukraine leaves the current schedule at 22 races. If all those rounds take place again, plus the two more already confirmed, F1 will reach a new high of 24 races.
There is also the question of whether F1 will finally return to China next year, for the first time since 2019. It was the first country to pull its race after the Covid-19 outbreak.
For the first time since joining the calendar in 2004, China has its own F1 driver. But it remains to be seen when Zhou Guanyu will get the chance to race in his home city. China’s efforts to pursue a zero-Covid strategy…