Where is the 2013 F1 calendar?

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Update: the 2013 F1 calendar has now been published.


Matthew Cook emailled in to ask:

I was wondering if you have an idea when the official schedule for the 2013 F1 season is released?

The first version of the 2012 F1 calendar appeared at the beginning of June last year, so Matthew’s not wrong in thinking this year’s is taking longer than usual to appear.

The next meeting of the FIA’s World Motor Sports Council is due to take place on Friday 28th September in Paris so expect to see a draft calendar following that.

The 2013 F1 calendar should include a new race at a street track in New Jersey, dubbed the Grand Prix of America.

This is set to take place in June. The FIA recently announced the date for next year’s Le Mans 24 Hours had been put back by a week, suggesting the latest addition to the F1 calendar may take place on its former date with the race on June 16th.

The future of some races on the calendar remain in doubt. The Spanish Grand Prix is expected to enter into a rotation arrangement between the Circuit de Catalunya, which has held the race since 1991, and Valencia’s street track, which began hosting the European Grand Prix in 2008.

There also also concerns over the ability of the Nurburgring to pay its hosting fee for the German Grand Prix owing to its recent financial problems.

Other events are out of contract at the end of this year including the next race on the calendar, the Singapore Grand Prix. The night race’s organisers denied earlier reports a new five-year deal had been agreed.

Given all this, it’s possible this year’s record 20 races will not be repeated in 2013.

Any updates on the 2013 F1 calendar will appear on the 2013 F1 season page.

If you’re planning to go to a Grand Prix next year you can find other fans who are the Going to a Grand Prix forums. For the race which have already happened this year there are now threads dedicated to the 2013 editions, and there will be further updates to reflect any changes when the 2013 calendar is announced:

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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29 comments on “Where is the 2013 F1 calendar?”

  1. Wasn’t there even a possibility to France to enter the F1 calendar? I’m reading various rumors which want Magny-Cours or Paul Ricard back in F1 next year. Anyone who knows this?

    1. There have been rumours, but nothing confirmed yet. Originally there were claims France and Belgium would alternate races, but now the Spa race has been confirmed for the next three years.

    2. @alphakaso – The original plan was to have the race at Paul Ricard, but then France had their elections and Sarkozy lost power. Hollande’s goverment is said to be keen on the idea of a French Grand Prix, but they want the race to take place at Magny-Cours. There was a lot of talk about it back in June, but things have gone quiet since then.

      1. Paris street race is to be forgotten, isn’t it?

        1. The idea for a street race in Paris – which was actually going to be run around EuroDisney, of all places – hasn’t been considered for years. It was first proposed in 2007, when it was announced Formula 1 would leave France, and re-proposed when Formula 2 actually left France, but I haven’t heard hide or hair of it since.

      2. out of topic, Have you seen that photo of Hollande looking to his watch upside down? Would you elect someone called Ireland?

    3. well, it seems bernie owns paul ricard, so i would bet on that

      1. Bernie can’t make money from himself can he? Actually, come to think of it he could probably find a way.

        1. Bernie owns the circuit, but he does not own the company that would organise and operate the race at the circuit. He’s too savvy a businessman to make that mistake.

    4. That could’ve been the case if Sarkozy would’ve remained in office, but apparently Hollande is not in favor of putting any money into it.

    5. Joe Saward says France has a good shot at returning to the calendar next year, along with NJ and Turkey.

      Yes, you read that right: Turkey.

    6. In this week’s Autosport magazine, there is a story about a possible return of the French GP. Apparently Magny-Cours and Paul Ricard are making presentations to the FFSA in the next week. It’s possible the FIA is waiting for this before finalising the new calendar.

  2. Given all this, it’s possible this year’s record 20 races will not be repeated in 2013.

    Bernie Ecclestone has said that the calendar will be largely unchanged in 2013. From the sounds of things, he has a calendar ready to go, but he just needs a meeting of the World Motorsports Council to ratify it.

  3. Keith, when did the final 2012 F1 calendar appear then (as opposed to the first draft which you mention in your post)

    1. @raymondu999 December 7, it’s traditionally approved by the WMSC in their December meeting before the FIA Gala, I guess.

      https://www.racefans.net/2011/12/07/united-states-grand-prix-remains-unchanged-2012-f1-calendar/

  4. I have been wondering this. Would quite like to tie in the Malaysian GP to a holiday out there.

  5. What about the rumours of a Mexican and Argentinean Grand Prix?

    1. The Argentina deal apparently fell through. They were all excited and announced a date where the contract would be signed, and they haven’t said a word about it since. @fer-no65 could probably tell you more, seeing as he is Argentinian himself. According to him, it was something of a political stunt.

      As for Mexico, Carlos Slim Domit – the son of Carlos Slim Helu and the mastermind behind Telmex’s presence in Formula 1 – was looking at getting it back, but it appears that any circuit that could host the needs an upgrade, and there won’t be enough time to get it ready for 2013.

      Besides, the current form of the Concorde Agreement only allows for up to 20 races. With the Spanish Grand Prix alternating between Barcelona and Valencia, and the Grand Prix of America taking the empty space, the calendar is rounded out at 20 events. I’ve heard that Bernie wants a provision for up to 24 with the permission of the teams (the current Concorde allows for 17 or up to 0 if the teams agree, so this is not a new idea), but with the time it has taken to get the Concorde Agreement signed, there will not be long before the final cut-off date for changes to the calendar.

      If we’re going to see more than 20 races, it won’t be until 2014.

      1. @prisoner-monkeys @necrodethmortem

        The goverment was quite loud about the race, saying it’d definetly happen next year, at that street track in Mar del Plata.

        Weirdly, after a couple of weeks it was all silence. And then, the Minister of Tourism, while presenting the 2013 MotoGP race in Argentina, was asked about the F1 race and said: “the cost was higher than expected”.

        Weird, as they said they had contacted Bernie, and they contacted him in 2009 too. It was all “smoke” afterall.

        I don’t understand why they didn’t try to build a single Grade 1 racetrack for both MotoGP and F1, considering Termas de Rio Hondo is being upgraded heavily for next year’s MotoGP race and they even had to build an international airport.

        Plus, considering the political, social and economical situation of the country… really, an F1 race? But well…

        As I said below, the whole thing was just a “Monorail moment”.

    2. Argentinean Grand Prix

      @necrodethmortem Pff… It was like The Simpson’s Monorail.

      Monoraaaaaaaail !

      1. one of, if not THE best simpsons episode ever. we still miss you, phil hartman.

        1. @f1yankee It’s on my top 5, yeah. :P

          Marge: Homer, there’s a man here who thinks he can help you!
          Homer: Batman?
          Marge: No, he’s a scientist.
          Homer: Batman’s a scientist.

  6. I hope Singapore will renew its contract soon. I don’t understand why they did not do so up to now, though it surely has a reason.

    Out of the Tilke boredoms, I like Istanbul and Singapore the best – the former because of Turn 8 and the generally good overtaking point at the end of the back straight, the latter because it is relentlessly undulating. 20-some corners to negotiate on a long lap, in the heat. I think it’s an unusual challenge for once.

    I’d be sad if Singapore would have to go, after Istanbul has already been dropped.

    1. @atticus-2
      I agree. I hope Singapore stays.
      Its not the perfect circuit, and a lot of things could be improved, but lets not get into that. In todays calender there is only two real street circuits. Monaco and Singapore.
      Valencia technically is as well, but it has got very few street circuit caracteristics to it.
      Singapore is just so hard, routhless and unfair on the drivers that I just can’t help but like it. Its just facinating to watch.
      The races aren’t that exciting, but just like monaco, it somewhat makes up for that with something else. It offers something different. And in an age where most circuits are moulded upon the same templete, is of similar lengths, speeds and numbers of corners, its just a relief to see something different.

    2. I’m the only one that loves Korea, surely the place is very overlooked but it has produced better racing since it’s strange debut.

  7. I guess the lack of a new Concorde Agreement will be delaying things as well? The teams want to make sure their resources aren’t stretched by more than they can cope with.

  8. As has been said above, Joe Saward reckons:

    The word is that Ecclestone wants to have 22 races in 2013. Valencia will disappear because there is no money and we are hearing that the new races will be New Jersey, France and Turkey. The teams who have signed the new Concorde Agreement have agreed to 20 races a year with a number of possible extras. This will make the season ever more tough and expensive, but the teams like the idea because they can earn more. The scheduling needs to be such that races are back to back and so overall costs are reduced, but it remains to be seen whether there really are 22 viable races.

    This is surprising for a number of reasons. Firstly, the inclusion of Turkey is entirely out of left field, having left the calendar last year after generally disappointing (and presumably loss-making) attendance figures.

    Secondly, the usual position is that the teams don’t want the calendar to be expanded any further because of the strain on their racegoing crews. Too many more races and teams fear they’ll each have to introduce a second crew, which will obviously be much more expensive. Strange that Joe suggests they have now been won round to the idea. Perhaps the new Concorde Agreement allows for a fixed number of races, plus more if the teams agree, but Bernie has to pay them for each additional race. If I recall correctly that has been the situation previously.

    Thirdly, Joe says there is “no money” for Valencia, whereas other sources have indicated that its absence from the 2013 calendar will be a one-off as it enters into a rotation with Barcelona. Time will tell.

    1. That’s strange, that’s not reasonable at all, you brought up all of the issues, but i must say that the Turkish have a lot of money, and no team would refuse a French and another North American GP.

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