Las Vegas Formula 1 debut is part of a 24 race 2023 calendar
Formula 1 has announced its calendar for the 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship. Beginning on March 5th in Bahrain and concluding 38 weeks later in Abu Dhabi on November 26th, the season will feature a record 24 races. The sport has never had a season made up of more than 22 races.
Max Verstappen already has the 2022 World Drivers’ Championship title at his mercy. In 2023 his rivals will have an additional two races to stake their claim. ©Getty/RedBullContent
Next year China and Qatar are set to return to the roster. China last hosted a Formula 1 contest in 2019. The Shanghai International Circuit had previously staged the Chinese Grand Prix for 16 consecutive seasons. Lewis Hamilton has won the race six times.
Las Vegas Grand Prix Is Back After 40-Year Absence
Qatar’s Losail International Circuit made its Formula 1 debut in 2021 when drafted onto the calendar to replace the Covid-19 hit Australian Grand Prix. Not staged in 2022 to avoid a clash with the World Cup, 2023s race will be the first race of a ten-year contract with Formula 1. Only one venue will make its debut in 2023, the much-anticipated Las Vegas temporary street circuit. Formula 1 last visited the city in 1982 when a race took place within the confines of Caesars Palace parking lot.
Next year the United States will host three races: Miami on May 7th, Austin on October 22nd and Las Vegas on November 18th. The brand-new Vegas track will have 17-turns and measure 3.8 miles utilizing the famous Vegas Strip. It will also be a night race and, for the first time since 1985, the Grand Prix will take place on a Saturday.
Growth, Appeal and a Balance
The sport’s traditional four-week summer break will remain in August. Changes to race dates see Belgium move to the end of July as a back-to-back with Hungary, while the Netherlands is coupled with Italy after the restart.
Introducing the 2023 F1 Calendar 👀
Get set for a record-breaking 24 races next season!#F1 pic.twitter.com/t6Jl521H1G
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 20, 2022
“We are excited to announce the 2023 calendar with 24 races around the world. Formula 1 has unprecedented demand to host races, and it is important we get the balance right for the entire sport,” Said Formula 1 CEO and President Stefano Domenicali announcing the new calendar. FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem added: “The presence of 24 races on the 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship calendar is further evidence of the growth and appeal of the sport on a global scale. The addition of new venues and the retention of traditional events underlines the FIA’s sound stewardship of the sport.”
Will the Lights Be Out by Vegas?
French race fans will not be enamored with the 2023 calendar as the French Grand Prix has been dropped from proceedings. The race only rejoined the roster in 2018 after a ten-year absence.
There is also a fear the 24-race season could prove anticlimactic. 2021 may have seen the World Drivers’ and World Constructors’ Championships finely poised at the final race of the year but 2022s 22-race season has become a landslide.
At the next Grand Prix – in Singapore on October 2nd – Max Verstappen can clinch his second World Championship title. If he does, he will do so with five races to spare. The Constructors’ Championship will run longer.
However, the final three Grand Prix in Mexico, Brazil, and Abu Dhabi could become little more than inconsequential exhibition races and will not excite Formula 1 betting fans. Should 2023 follow a similar path, Las Vegas will be amongst the races where both titles have already been decided – and little is on the line for many teams and drivers.
