In 2024 the Formula 1 championship will last 282 days. The extra large calendar

Formula 1 launches an extra large calendar for 2024. It starts on March 2nd and ends on December 8th with 24 races, only 9 of which are in old Europe. There will be 282 days of Formula 1, Italy retains the two appointments of Imola and Monza, China is back, which this year had given up at the last minute. There are no geographical changes, but there is a small big revolution on the way: the first two races of the season, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, will run on Saturday to respect Ramadan. To tell the truth, this year the Las Vegas Grand Prix will also take place on a Saturday, but at 10pm which will be 7am on Sunday morning in Italy.

Ramadam weekends will start on Thursday, so the engines will start for the first time in Bahrain as late as February 29th. A Formula 1 respectful of Ramadan, but also of Easter: on March 31 there are no races on the calendar, unlike many other times that have seen the engines roar on Resurrection Sunday.

In compiling the calendar we have tried to do so taking into account the geography to reduce world tours (and therefore air flights). Thus Japan was brought forward to April and placed between Australia and China. From Shanghai, however, you will have to fly to Miami to then land in Europe, racing to Imola and Monaco and re-crossing the Atlantic to fly to Montreal before the long European summer. There will be a mini Olympic truce with only the Belgian Grand Prix (July 28) overlapping the Paris Games (July 26 to August 11). Despite the efforts, there will still be many trips from one part of the earth to another with a thrilling finale in three consecutive weekends between Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi where the final fireworks will put an end to the longest world championship in the history.

“There is enormous interest and continuous demand for Formula 1, there are many countries that would like to host a race – said Stefano Domenicali, CEO of Liberty Media – and I believe that this calendar strikes the right balance between traditional races and venues. new and existing. Our journey towards a more sustainable calendar will continue in the coming years as we further streamline operations as part of our Net Zero 2030 commitment.” The only continent still in the window is Africa, while the return of France and Germany still without tenders is not foreseen. Let’s enjoy the Italian double while it lasts. If Monza does not carry out the planned modernization works, the risk of losing the race in the future will be very high. “The confirmation of the presence of Imola and Monza in the 2024 calendar is the concrete demonstration of the goodness of the enormous sacrifices made by the Automobile Club of Italy to organize two grands prix in our country despite the growing demand from many countries to want to host a an event as prestigious as a Formula 1 GP – commented the president of Aci, Angelo Sticchi Damiani -. We are now working hard to ensure that Italy continues to have a central role in the Formula 1 World Championship for a long time”.

The number of scheduled sprint races has not yet been announced. Six should remain like this year, but it cannot be ruled out that they will become eight given that the public likes the formula (but less so for the teams). There are three hat-tricks, meaning three race weekends in a row. One European (Spain, Austria and Great Britain), one North-Central-South American (Austin, Mexico City, Sao Paulo) and one crazy (Las Vegas-Losail-Abu Dhabi). But if you place 24 races in a 52-week year it’s hard to do otherwise.