F1 has announced its race calendar for next season. As well as shuffling races around to minimise the amount of air travel teams will have to undertake, the calendar also features the new Madring circuit in Madrid, which will effectively replace Imola in Italy.
The new circuit has been described as a hybrid track, combining tight street corners and long fast-paced straights. It will be contested on the weekend of 11 – 13 June, at the end of the European stage of the calendar.
This year’s season is well underway, and after nine races, Oscar Piastri holds a slender 10-point lead over fellow McLaren racer Lando Norris. With slightly more than half the season to go, however, there is still plenty of racing left to go.
Reputable international sportsbooks do have Piastri as the favourite, with odds of around 11/17. Second-place Lando Norris has been given a price of 2/1, while Max Verstappen is 7/1 and the rest of the field have odds of at least 150/1. Gambling expert Matt Bastock points to overseas sportsbooks for their generous bonuses and competitive odds, meaning punters can enjoy potentially bigger returns on their F1 wagers.
F1 Calendar Changes
F1’s new rules dictate that cars must run on 100% sustainable fuels. This, coupled with the criticism leveled at the sport for the massive amount of air miles racers and teams put in every year, has led to racing heads shuffling the calendar around. From next year, races will effectively be split into continents.
Canada has been moved from early June to the end of May, so it follows the Miami race. After Canada, the racing heads to Europe with the Monaco race and stays on the continent until the middle of September.
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The final race in the European segment will be held at the sport’s newest circuit in Madrid, which has been described by F1 driver Carlos Sainz as having “charisma and character,” pointing to the fact it has “a lot of corners that make it different.” He went on to say that it has “character”.
Imola Dropped, Madrid Added
Imola was introduced to the F1 calendar in 1980 when Monza was being redeveloped and the sport needed a fill-in race. Races were held as part of the calendar until 2006, when it was dropped.
In 2020, when travel was heavily restricted because of the pandemic and organizers were looking for tracks that could host races but that didn’t necessitate a lot of travel. Since then, Imola has been part of the calendar as the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.
Madrid’s addition to the roster meant that a track was likely to be cut from the rotation to keep the number of races down to the self-imposed limit of 24. Contractually, 25 races are the maximum number of events that can be held in the season.
F1 chairman Stefano Domenicali has stated that he believes 24 is the ideal number of races on the calendar. He believes 24 is the ideal compromise because it doesn’t place too much pressure on those in the sport, but it still allows for expansion and good coverage.
There are likely to be further calendar and circuit changes in the future. Belgium’s Spa starts a new contract in 2026, but will only host races in four of the six years of the contract. Thailand wants a race to be hosted in Bangkok, and F1 organizers want to find a way to incorporate a race in Africa.
Beyond next year, Spain is likely to lose the Barcelona race, as Madrid was meant as a replacement for it, and the sport generally prefers to keep the number of races in a country to just one.
