The 2019 Formula 1 season will start earlier and finish later than this year’s season if the FIA approve the draft calendar.
F1 has published what the 2019 calendar will look like ahead of a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council on October 14th.
The calendar will feature the same number of races as this year, with Germany remaining on the schedule after the sport reached a new agreement with the promoter at the Hockenheimring.
Suzuka will also continue as the host of the Japanese Grand Prix after agreeing a new three-year deal with F1 to keep the race on the calendar until 2021.
There’ll be no repeat of this year’s triple header, which was primarily included to avoid a clash with the FIFA World Cup final. Instead, the opening race of the season is scheduled a week earlier, with the Australian Grand Prix pencilled in for March 17th. It’ll be a later finish too, with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix closing the campaign on December 1st.
The races will take place at the same 21 circuits as this year’s Grands Prix, with the only change to the order coming towards the end of the season, as the Mexican Grand Prix and United States Grand Prix have swapped places.
Chairman and CEO of Formula 1 Chase Carey said: “It gives me great pleasure to announce that the draft of the 2019 FIA Formula 1 World Championship calendar is made up of 21 races, as it was this year. In addition, we are honoured the promoters of the long-standing Japanese Grand Prix have agreed to a new long-term deal that will ensure our loyal and knowledgeable Japanese fans will be able to enjoy Formula 1 for more years to come.
“I am also delighted to confirm that with the very valuable help of Mercedes-Benz, the German automobile clubs ADAC and AvD and the German Minister for Transportation and Digital Infrastructure, we have reached an agreement with the Municipality of Hockenehim and the promoter Hockenheim-Ring GmbH which will allow to once more race at this iconic circuit also in 2019. This demonstrates how all stakeholders within Formula 1 are working together to ensure the long-term future of the sport and its fans.”
President of Suzuka-promoter MobilityLandCorp Susumu Yamashita added: “We are pleased to be celebrating 30 years of Formula 1 at Suzuka Circuit and to be sharing the special event with Honda, who are our title partner. We would like to express our sincere appreciation to both Honda Motor Co., Ltd and Formula 1 for allowing this to happen and we are looking forward to the Grand Prix weekend. Following the announcement of the race renewal, we are excited for the future and hope that the Suzuka Circuit continues to remain a fan’s favourite around the world, whilst continuing to contribute positively toward the prosperity of motor sports in Japan.”
CEO at Hockenheim-Ring GmbH Georg Sailer said: “We are very delighted that after this year’s impressive Formula 1 race at the Hockenheim-Ring, a German Grand Prix has also been secured for 2019. The intensive, direct contractual discussions between Formula 1 and us in recent weeks have always been trusting, constructive and solution-oriented – the agreement reached is proof of this.”
The Chinese Grand Prix will be one of the most significant on the calendar, as it will be Formula 1’s 1000th Grand Prix. The race is due to take place in Shanghai on April 14th.
The calendar doesn’t include the previously proposed Miami Grand Prix, which has been postponed until 2020 while negotiations between the city and F1 continue.
F1 2019 draft calendar:
March 17th – Australian Grand Prix
March 31st – Bahrain Grand Prix
April 14th – Chinese Grand Prix
April 28th – Azerbaijan Grand Prix
May 12th – Spanish Grand Prix
May 26th – Monaco Grand Prix
June 9th – Canadian Grand Prix
June 23rd – French Grand Prix
June 30th – Austrian Grand Prix
July 14th – British Grand Prix
July 28th – German Grand Prix
August 4th – Hungarian Grand Prix
September 1st – Belgium Grand Prix
September 8th – Italian Grand Prix
September 22nd – Singapore Grand Prix
September 29th – Russian Grand Prix
October 13th – Japanese Grand Prix
October 27th – Mexican Grand Prix
November 3rd – United States Grand Prix
November 17th – Brazilian Grand Prix
December 1st – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix