Formula 1’s provisional 2022 calendar has been revealed with the return of several major flyaway races and the inaugural Miami Grand Prix making up a planned 23-race season, while the Chinese Grand Prix has made way for an Imola race.
F1 is about to complete a record 22-round 2021 season but its original goal was 23 races.
That is back on the agenda for 2022, when F1 hopes to finally return to Australia, Canada, Singapore and Japan and plans to conclude the season on November 20 – the earliest finish for 12 years.
The flyaway races named above were cancelled two seasons in a row because of the coronavirus pandemic.
They have been named on the provisional calendar but China has not because it is unable to host a grand prix with spectators due to lingering COVID-19 restrictions.
F1 says the Shanghai race “will be restored to the calendar as soon as conditions allow”.
For 2022, the Chinese GP will be – replaced by a race at Imola, which was a shock F1 returnee in last year’s unusual calendar and maintained its place for 2021 as F1 focused on a Europe-heavy schedule.
Now a coalition of bodies have agreed to put up the funding required to keep hosting the race.
Italian prime minister Mario Draghi instructed the ACI, Italy’s motorsport authority, to draw up an agreement with F1 with a reported €20m fund guaranteed.
The majority of that would be paid by the national government, one-quarter from the Emilia Romagna region (from which the 2020 and 2021 races took their names), and the rest from the CON.MI regional consortium and the ACI.
The 2022 season will start with a Middle East double-header in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia before the standalone Australian Grand Prix, which has lost its status as the opening round.
Miami’s first F1 race will take place on May 8, pushing the Spanish Grand Prix into a back-to-back with Monaco.
The familiar (pre-COVID) double-header of Azerbaijan and Canada is now scheduled for mid-June before a run of European races either side of the summer break that has a new order.
F1’s British GP has been moved to July 3, followed by Austria (July 10) and France (July 24).
Hungary completes the first half of the season before the reprisal of the 2021 triple-header of Belgium, Netherlands and Italy after the three-week break.
Another triple-header follows, with Singapore, which has agreed a new long-term deal, followed by Russia and Japan.
The Singapore race is listed on the provisional calendar as being “subject to contract”, which is also the case for Imola and Barcelona.
After Japan, F1 will then head to the Americas for the United States/Mexico back-to-back and then standalone events for Brazil and the season finale in Abu Dhabi, which will take place in November to avoid the start of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Provisional F1 2022 calendar
March 20: Bahrain
March 27: Saudi Arabia
April 10: Australia
April 24: Imola
May 8: Miami
May 22: Spain
May 29: Monaco
June 12: Azerbaijan
June 19: Canada
July 3: Britain
July 10: Austria
July 24: France
July 31: Hungary
August 28: Belgium
September 4: Netherlands
September 11: Italy
September 25: Russia
October 2: Singapore
October 9: Japan
October 23: United States
October 30: Mexico
November 13: Brazil
November 20: Abu Dhabi
