Monaco sprint and season opener Plan B - F1's 2027 calendar
A sprint race in Monaco is a shock addition to Formula 1's revamped 2027 calendar, as championship bosses push on with plans to start the season in the Middle East.
Following weeks of delay in F1 and the FIA not being able to commit to a schedule for next year because of the ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran, a calendar was finally published on Wednesday morning.
While the tensions in the Middle East have not gone away, and there remain doubts about F1's final races this year in Qatar and Abu Dhabi happening, F1 has in the end decided to stick with its original plan to start the season with races in Bahrain (March 14) and Saudi Arabia (March 21).
This double header in the Middle East is then scheduled to be followed by grands prix in Australia (April 4), Japan (April 11) and China (April 18).
The decision to stick with a Middle East start follows the tactic that F1 has pursued with all the races in the region so far, in holding fire for as long as possible on making a call about whether they can go ahead.
The fate of this year's season-closing Middle East races had been expected to be decided within the next week or so, but may be deferred even more.
Middle East Plan B
As well as Bahrain being scheduled as the first race, it is due to host the pre-season test from February 24-27, so F1 would need to be sure about the safety of going there early in the New Year.
As The Race has previously reported, if the races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia cannot take place when they are currently scheduled to, then it is understood F1 will look to bring forward the Australia/China/Japan events to kick off the campaign instead.
If this happens, critical to the order of these will be how soon the Australian Grand Prix organiser can complete work in building a new pits and paddock complex, so it is able to host a race.
The construction had been based around the original provisional date in April and initially there was not much wriggle room to bring that forward - meaning that if races had to be shuffled forward to March, then it would mean China and Japan starting the season.
However, it is now understood that there is increased optimism in Australia that if circumstances dictate an early season shuffle, it should be able to accommodate a move to become the season opener.
A final call will not need to be made for a while now with the current plan to start in the Middle East in play.
The 2027 calendar also confirms that Portugal's return to the calendar will be as a standalone in Portimao on June 20, with Turkey's comeback being as the middle event in a triple-header that includes Azerbaijan and Singapore.
F1 has also elected to have Las Vegas as a standalone on November 20, with a two-week gap following the event before the final races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
More sprints including Monaco
One of the big surprises in the calendar is the addition of a sprint race in Monaco - one of the most difficult tracks on the schedule to overtake on.
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has said many times that the number of sprints would increase next season from the current six.
The 2027 calendar announced on Wednesday has revealed that there will be 10 in total, with Bahrain, Australia, Japan, Monaco and Abu Dhabi holding them for the first time.
The timing of the sprints means that if the Bahrain GP goes ahead as planned, or the Australian GP becomes the first race, then the season opener will run to this format for the first time - leaving teams with just one practice session with their new cars prior to competitive action beginning.
The choice of Brazil, Qatar and Abu Dhabi being included in the schedule also means that three of the final four races will be sprints,
The biggest surprise addition to host a sprint is Monaco, with the tight and twisty street circuit not an obvious place to have an extra short race due to its lack of overtaking opportunities.
However, it is understood that one of the primary motivations for turning Monaco into a sprint was about adding some variability to the entire weekend rather than just being about an extra race on Saturday.
The sprint format means drivers will have just a single practice session on Friday before they go into sprint qualifying, so they will not be as well dialled in as they usually are with three sessions prior to Saturday's grid position battle.
This extra jeopardy could well throw up different grids between Saturday's sprint and the main grands prix on Sunday.
It also means that, at a track where qualifying is often viewed as the best part of the weekend, this will now take place two times.
