Formula 1 management has confirmed the racing calendar for the 74th season in history. China will not make a comeback. There is no substitute either.
The turning point is missing. The 2023 Formula 1 season will consist of 23 races and not 24 Grands Prix as envisaged in the first draft of the calendar. The management of Formula 1 announced this on Tuesday (January 17) and finally rejected China and the possible replacement candidates. "We can confirm that the 2023 season consists of 23 races. All other races remain on their original dates," it said in a brief statement.
Originally there were 24 Grands Prix on the calendar. But the Chinese corona policy led to the race in Shanghai being canceled. That was at the beginning of December 2022. When the strict measures in the People's Republic fell at the end of the month and beginning of January, the promoter knocked on the door of Formula 1 management again. There was hope that the Grand Prix might be accommodated again.
New record even without China
But nothing will come of it. The retreat does not happen. The corona situation with the currently high number of infections was probably too hot for Formula 1. So there won't be another Formula 1 race in China until next year at the earliest. The last one was held there in 2019 – back then it was the 1,000th Grand Prix in history. We did talk to replacement candidates. But in the end, the premier class decided against a trip to Portugal, Istanbul or Paul Ricard. You don't want to burden the teams even more in the short term.
The ten racing teams will be happy about it. So you can catch your breath in April. There is now a four-week gap in the racing calendar between the Australian GP (2 April) and the race in Azerbaijan (30 April). After that, the stress continues. The transport crates have to be flown from Baku to Miami within just a few days.
However, the failure of the GP China puts pressure on the income of the rights holders. Nevertheless, Formula 1 will make more money overall at the Grand Prix. Compared to the two previous years, the number of races has grown from 22 to 23. This means that the premier class has also set a new sales record.
