Korea, Mexico and New Jersey dropped as 2014 F1 calendar is confirmed

2014 F1 season

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The FIA has confirmed the 2014 F1 calendar will have 19 races instead of the 22 proposed earlier this year.

The proposed races in New Jersey and Mexico have been dropped from the calendar. The Korean Grand Prix, which was first held in 2010, also does not appear on the schedule for next year.

The season begins in Australia with a stand-alone race, followed two weeks later by back-to-back races in Malaysia and Bahrain. This is the first of four back-to-back rounds on the calendar.

Another back-to-back race sees the inaugural Russian Grand Prix take place one week after the Japanese Grand Prix.

Russia is the only new addition to the calendar with Austria returning after a 11-year absence. The Indian Grand Prix has been dropped along with the Korean round, but organisers hope to have the race at the Buddh International circuit back on the 2015 schedule.

RoundRaceCircuitDateForum
1Australian Grand PrixAlbert ParkMarch 14 – 16Forum
2Malaysian Grand PrixSepang International CircuitMarch 28 – 30Forum
3Bahrain Grand PrixBahrain International CircuitApril 4 – 6Forum
4Chinese Grand PrixShanghai International CircuitApril 18 – 20Forum
5Spanish Grand PrixCircuit de CatalunyaMay 9 – 11Forum
6Monaco Grand PrixMonte-CarloMay 22 – 25Forum
7Canadian Grand PrixCircuit Gilles VilleneuveJune 6 – 8Forum
8Austrian Grand PrixRed Bull RingJune 20 – 22
9British Grand PrixSilverstoneJuly 4 – 6Forum
10German Grand PrixHockenheimringJuly 18 – 20Forum
11Hungarian Grand PrixHungaroringJuly 25 – 27Forum
12Belgian Grand PrixSpa-FrancorchampsAugust 22 – 24Forum
13Italian Grand PrixMonzaSeptember 5 – 7Forum
14Singapore Grand PrixSingaporeSeptember 19 – 21Forum
15Japanese Grand PrixSuzukaOctober 3 – 5Forum
16Russian Grand PrixSochiOctober 10 – 12
17United States Grand PrixCircuit of the AmericasOctober 31 – November 2Forum
18Brazilian Grand PrixInterlagosNovember 7 – 9Forum
19Abu Dhabi Grand PrixYas MarinaNovember 21 – 23Forum

2014 F1 season


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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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96 comments on “Korea, Mexico and New Jersey dropped as 2014 F1 calendar is confirmed”

  1. Terrible end to the season, did Ecclestone miss 2010’s title decider?

    1. @roald It’s for practical reasons, they will test the Monday and Tuesday after at Abu Dhabi. If so, can’t argue with that.

    2. Daniel (@collettdumbletonhall)
      4th December 2013, 14:52

      +1

    3. Let’s just hope the title is decided before the final race.

      1. As long as it isn’t Vettel….

        1. losing the title :P

        2. any where between 2nd and 22nd

      2. @kaiie Let’s just hope the title is decided before the final race.

        ahhh, no thanks! the last thing the sport needs is yet another year in which the final race(s) = meaningless to the WDC/WCC!

        1. There is nothing unusual about an F1 season being decided before the final race. Didn’t check but i’d bet its the vast majority. A title decider in the final race is great but not essential to F1.

    4. He’s hoping new regs will increase overtaking and the 2010 problems will not be repeated.

      1. 2012 race was exceptional, and most likely it won’t be repeated. So if his intention is to increase the show and get more money, why the #?*! doesn’t he keep it like it is, I mean, where is the logic in dropping a potentially popular races in Mexico and New Jersey and going after places like Korea, India, Russia and the middle east? Most of those countries host the races (boring, unattended and unpopular) only a few times before being drooped out.

    5. @roald it’s the only thing that annoys me, too !

      Abu Dhabi is a terrible, terrible event full stop, nevermind as a season finale.

      Brazil, on the other hand, it’s perfect from every point of view. Just like Australia is the perfect season opener, and not Bahrain…

      1. Abu Dhabi is a terrible, terrible event full stop, nevermind as a season finale.

        Who cares !!!! As long as the promoters are loading cash into Bernie’s pocket Abu Dhabi remains the best ever circuit in the world

        1. Abu Dhabi could the best-looking circuit in the world, but imagine if the circuit had been built in the same way as…. India or Korea. Damn, that would the worst circuit in the world!!!

  2. Good enough calendar, though I can’t really understand why there’s a three week gap between Russia and America.

    1. It’s the RENEWAL of “The Cold War”.

    2. Probably because Korea is missing.

      1. Maybe because it is their first time in the country and they aren’t sure of the logistics of getting everything out of the country?

      2. @walsh-f1 @jcost Not only because of Korea but also to save costs since it’s not efficient to have a two week gap between Japan and Russia and the agreement between FOM and likewise between Ausitn and Brazil. They could’ve moved all the final 3 races a week forward but I seem to remember reading that the contract between FOM and Austin stipulates that it should be held in the month of November

  3. Isn’t October 10-12 weekend kind of late for a Russian GP? Even if Sochi is as SW as Russia goes, I still don’t think it’s really the ideal timeline.

    1. Well, it can be cold, but I think it shouldn’t be too bad; average temps should be around 15C in October. Then again, it could be snowing – that would be something. The precipitation numbers also seem quite high, we could be in for a wet Russian GP.

      1. @kaiie snow? That would be fun, too bad Pirelli is not making any snow-friendly tyres and FIA would never allow such a race :)

      2. Snow? No way! I’ve been in Sochi a few times, and usually it’s pretty warm in the beginning of October, around 20C.

        1. Thanks for the good news

      3. snow? well… it’s time for pirelli to test F1 Winter tyres

    2. That’s what I was wondering about @gicu

      Some thoughts quickly crossed my mind about a first ever snowy F1 race weekend – and it reminds me about a testing in ’05 at Silverstone when Alonso drove while snowing.

      1. OmarR-Pepper (@)
        4th December 2013, 16:56

        @jeff1s so they can race… at 50 kph!
        In a race like that anything could happen, even Chilton can win!

    3. It’s a pity snow is not expected at Sochi. The snowplow configuration of modern F1 cars would be vindicated finally.

  4. I’m disappointed to see Abu Dhabi ending the season, it has the worst track on the calendar and has produced rubbish races more often than not.

    I find it strange that Russia is just a week after Japan considering Sochi is in Western Russia, especially when there’s a three week gap between Russia and the USA races.

    1. @slr Logistically it’s far wiser to fly straight to Russia from Japan, and then to the break in Europe than going to Europe and then driving the trucks back east to Russia

  5. Glad the Triple header is not there

  6. I guess Dubai Dollars have beaten Brazillian Booties to the last spot on the calender.

    1. It seems Ecclestone ranks the Dollar higher!

      1. Well at his age, he certainly has no use for booties.

    2. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are 2 separate states in the UAE but you’re not completely wrong Dubai has been actually pushing for hosting an F1 test session, i just hope the title will be decided in thrilling race in Brazil à la 2012

      1. Michael Brown (@)
        4th December 2013, 20:54

        Dubai Autodrome is a fantastic track and should replace Abu Dhabi

        1. @lite992 I agree that a test at Dubai Autodrome would be awesome, mainly because I live in Dubai Motor City, right next to the track. :)

  7. Another example of money over quality in F1… Having Yas Marina instead of Interlagos as the finale…

  8. Well finally the F1 calender is going in the right direction.
    2 races less in Asia and 2 European races added.
    In Korea and India the spectators didn’t fill up even half the capicity of the stands.
    The tickets for Austria were sold out after 3 days!
    And although Sotchi is a Tilkedrome. It will always have more ambiance than the ‘in the middle of nowhere’ Korean GP. So definitely an improvement if you ask me. It’s only sad to see that Abu Dhabi will host the final race.

    1. Add Estoril, Imola and Brands Hatch, drop Abu Dhabi and Bahrein and what a calender we have.

      1. Not Imola, definitely. It barely produced exciting races.
        It would be better to have two races in Germany or UK. Maybe even the new Indianapolis, it looks much more F1-friendly.

      2. Bahrain actually produces good racing. Only in 2010 when they used a different layout was it bad.

      3. Brands Hatch would be terrible for modern F1 cars – Imola was never that exciting IMO. I would prefer to see Motorland Aragon and keep Bahrain (hate the politics, like the track).

        Estoril I quite like though.

      4. @ardenflo Estoril is an horrendous venue, Brands is a killer track not in the good way and Bahrain is in fact one of the best layout if not the best in F1 paired with the korean layout which suffers with some of the same problems as Bahrain does, and Imola is nothing special but so isn’t the chinese gp that is almost a carbon copy of the malaysian layout but without the tropical beauty.

        1. @peartree I like those tracks and would love to see modern cars racing on them. I really don’t like Bahrein.

          All I mean is, there are so many great tracks in the world and F1-linked businesses keep building these new ones of which neither driver nor fan is happy about. I just named a few I like but they don’t have to be in Europe for that matter.

          I really like Fuji aswell…

          1. @ardenflo I thought you were hoping for the 90’s again.

      5. This may be seen as sacreliege to most people, but there should not be more than 9 European venues on the Formula One calendar. Even 9 European races is pushing it. Any more than that, and F1 is just not a global sport anymore, it’s a European sport that happens to travel around the world. If Formula One, as European a sport as it is, wants to call itself a global sport, then they should be in countries where motorsports as a whole are accepted.

        Estoril is not such a bad idea- but it has to be at the expense of another European venue. Brands Hatch is a fantastic venue, but it’s too short for F1 and Bahrain is a country because of the political situation F1 should not go there mainly because the race is funded directly by the Bahraini government, not private investors. And the track itself stinks- one of the worst layouts in the series. It’s not that challenging, its produced mostly boring races and its really only a business investment to get more tourists to come to Bahrain, which I’m sure is a lovely country.

        In my opinion, F1 should be racing in places like Argentina, South Africa, Mexico, a popular vacation spot in the Carribean and maybe even a place like Morocco. Ecclestone needs to get rid of the Malaysian race and replace it with the Indian one, and maybe even get Formula One to race on a Roval (a road course inside an oval, combined to make one whole race course) like Daytona in Florida or Fontana in California. Extend or redesign the infield road sections and upgrade those tracks for F1 (if NASCAR had a high-tech facility, that would be good for them). That would be so much better. Even bringing back the French GP at Paul Ricard wouldn’t be such a bad idea and they could use the whole Mistral straight without any chicanes (if that’s allowed), but the market most likely wouldn’t allow for that to happen).

  9. I really enjoyed watching the Korean Grand Prix this year. The last race in Valencia was very good as well, perhaps it’s a new tradition to throw a party in the house before moving out.

  10. I wanted to go to the Austrian GP next year and found out that it was completely sold out within 48hours – seems the you snooze you lose thing applies here.

  11. I’m glad to see the Korean GP being dropped.

    No disrespect to the genuine Korean fans, but the fact that the Yeongam Circuit never looked even half-finished at any of the races it held just looked awful, in my view.

    And at least we can be fairly sure of a very healthy crowd at Austria next year, which is what we want to see at every event.

    1. @magnificent-geoffrey I’m glad too. It was a particularly “grey” weekend every season since 2010. Nothing interesting to add to the calendar.

      Also, no race at Valencia. Confirms that the swap planned beginning this year was never going to materialize…

  12. petebaldwin (@)
    4th December 2013, 15:26

    Absolutely gutted to see Abu Dhabi at the end of the season. Brazil is a fantastic track that promotes close racing and with the constantly changing weather, it’s the perfect track to end the season on. Abu Dhabi is the complete opposite and is comfortably the worst track on the calendar. A great way for F1 to shoot itself in the foot but we’ve seen recently that F1 isn’t particularly bothered about that.

    On the other hand, I’m very glad to see Korea removed and it’s a shame to see India lose it’s GP (although I’m not bothered to lose the Buddh Circuit). Whilst lots of countries lacked class and respect by booing and acting like football fans, the Indian fans showed enthusiasm and we’re a credit to their country.

    I’m delighted to see Austria back on the calendar as it was always one of my favourites to drive on old F1 games and it’s inclusion means I get to drive it on my PS4! :D Can’t wait!

    I do have to say though that the Sochi track looks bloody horrendous from the layout I’ve seen so far. Lots of short straights bookended by slow 90 degree turns. It reminds me of the 2nd half of Abu Dhabi. It’s always hard to judge a track from the plans but it doesn’t look promising…

    1. Same here regarding Austria being a favourite on the past F1 games. Is it bad that whenever I see a new circuit added or one returned, one of the first things I wonder is what it will be like to drive on the respective F1 game? ;)

      1. petebaldwin (@)
        4th December 2013, 15:55

        @deej92 – haha not at all! It’s the first thing I think of too!

        Turn 2 at Austria will be absolute chaos online….

      2. Michael Brown (@)
        4th December 2013, 16:59

        Sochi looks like Valencia 2.0

  13. That’s a good calendar. I’m looking forward to Austria, Russia and the Bahrain night race. The only complaint is the season finale: Brazil is the perfect setting for that, so seeing Abu Dhabi there is disappointing. I suppose the Nurburgring having its biannual year-off and being replaced by Hockenheim is also disappointing (even though predictable since the sharing began) but that’s just personal opinion as I don’t like the 2002 circuit.

  14. I echo all sentiments against Abu Dhabi as season-ender

  15. India and Korea are gone. 2 wins less for Vettel. Mr. E is doing his best to increase the competition :D

  16. If Abu Dhabi was dropped, the calendar would be much better.

  17. Won’t having Abu Dhabi as the last race do the viewing figures more harm than good if the title is already decided by that point? I mean why would people who are casual viewers of F1 even consider watching it? Maybe because its a night/twilight race this time but there’s not much else. Brazil alone brings in the figures just because of it’s status regardless of the title being decided or not!

    Another step taken in the name of the dollar rather than in the well being and care of the sport.

  18. Regarding the headline, yay, boo and boo.

  19. it would have been much better if yas marina is replaced by BIC though not as the final race. Disappointed to see interlagos losing the final race to tlyas marina

  20. Not this Abu Dhabi crap again! I’d rather drop that race completely than have it as a season finale instead of Brazil. Interlagos kept producing great races for decades, while Abu Dhabi has managed a horrible race each year. The races are boring, the track is boring and the crowd is invisible.

  21. Looking forward to somebody losing the world championship on an ironic note, by running out of fuel in Abu Dhabi.

    Meanwhile, get it right this time, BBC, and show us 10 races live – not live coverage of a Grand Prix that never happens!

    1. Meanwhile, get it right this time, BBC, and show us 10 races live – not live coverage of a Grand Prix that never happens!

      I don’t think they had a choice.

  22. Shame about Mexico, happy about Korea :D

    Btw, F1’s 900th GP, will be the night race in Bahrain (like the 2008 Singapore GP)!

  23. Maaan now i’m sad. Mexico dropped out of the calendar and Abu Dhabi finishes the calendar, why couldn’t they keep Interlagos? it always produces great racing being a Title deciding race or just another race.

    1. @ausuma Well word here in Mexico is that they’ll start working on the track in January, so they clearly expect the race will happen in 2015. But then how many races will there be 22?
      India might not be coming back after all and other one has to go to fit both New Jersey and Mexico.

      1. 24 races including Morrocco if it ever gets the green light and New Jersey. I happy to see Mexico in 2015 as it will be a great addition to the calendar. Bernie and India have an agreement in place for 2015

  24. So how many engine failures and penalties for changing parts are we going to see in that Malaysia/Bahrain double header? I still remember Sepang in 2006 hehe

  25. OmarR-Pepper (@)
    4th December 2013, 17:00

    First time in a while I don’t see a race labeled as the “European GP”

    1. You mean the second time as there was no EGP this year

  26. Michael Brown (@)
    4th December 2013, 17:05

    Disappointed that New Jersey and Mexico didn’t make it. Mexico has a good track and New Jersey looks to be one of the best street circuits for F1.

    Korea was an ok track but it was poorly attended and placed in a horrible location for an international sporting event.

    Personally I’d like to see both German GPs in the same year, as I like both tracks (though I must give the edge to Hockenheimring).

  27. Good to see most of the 3 week gaps are gone, the first part of this season felt far too stop starty.

  28. Good to see Korea off the calendar: dreadful circuit, poorly chosen location and organizers that failed to promote the event. Mexico was probably a year to soon, but there are no excuses for Port Imperial’s failure. I doubt the Grand Prix will take place in 2015, or if it will take place at all.

    Regarding the ‘new’ circuits, Sochi is looking.. well, not particularly interesting. Like Korea, the location seems to be poorly chosen, as a circuit near Moscow or St. Petersburg might be a bigger success. Austria is a fantastic circuit and I’m thrilled it’s back on the calendar. Tickets are sold out already!

    On a different note: I think 19 is still a vast amount of Grands Prix. One of the things I realized this season is that a Grand Prix is not enjoyable if it isn’t special. During many GPs this year, I was thinking to myself “Well, it’s exactly the same as the previous races – why am I watching this again?” Reducing the amount of GPs would fix this in my opinion.

    1. You’re right there, I really don’t think New Jersey will ever happen either. The event has now been postponed twice, and despite Ecclestone saying they’ll definitely race there in 2015, I’m not buying it. It’s time to give up on Port Imperial and a Grand Prix with New York as a backdrop for now and try elsewhere in the future. Somewhere of substance.

  29. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
    4th December 2013, 17:48

    What the ???? I was so looking forward to the F1 race in New Jersey as it was the only one that I could attend with my wife and family – we have 2 young kids so taking them to a GP is impossible. I think it would have been an absolute classic – I’ve driven that area back when it was almost empty (it’s been hugely developed in the last 20 years) to visit an Asian supermarket with my wife. The view is just absolutely spectacular – it’s hard to take in by itself, much less with a F1 event tied to it.

    It would have made for a phenomenal race and I think with New York in the background, it would have set F1 on fire on the East Coast… At least I could talk to people about the event without appearing from outer space. The usual response from my neighbors is F What?

    So, so, so, so, so, so disappointed…

  30. you missed India from the article title keith. it only says it in the article itself.

  31. Such a horrible last race of the season. Horrible atmosphere & no changeable conditions.

    I’ll keep saying it. I’m loosing interest in F1 for so many reasons. I think for many 2014 may be their last season.

    We don’t have to continue watching F1 because we used to love it & have allegiance to the sport. If it gets any worse I’ll find something else to watch like many people have suggested.

  32. I must I’m glad to see the back the Korean GP. Disappointing not to finish in Interlagos, it has rarely failed to produce for me. What is the logic in putting Abu Dhabi last? money I suppose

  33. Bernie needs to be careful. How many more places does he think will be willing to spend 10’s of millions to build a track for it only to be dropped after 4-5 years?

    1. Only ones who are serious and committed.

  34. It’s disappointing to see the season end in Abu Dhabi- but it makes logistical and commercial sense. Nice to see Korea gone; I and a lot of other people didn’t like that race- but based on where it was on the calendar, there was no way it was going to happen. There was also no way that Mexican event would happen a year from when it was announced, what with all the work the organizers have to do to the track there. And the New Jersey race… well, we’ll see…

  35. Unbelievably disappointing they are not finishing in Brazil again…

  36. Even as a UAE resident I have to admit that it is beyond wrong for Abu Dhabi to be hosting the last race of the season. There are only two places to be considered to host the first and last races of the year, and they are Melbourne and Interlagos. But, as with most things in the UAE, hosting the last race of the season is a sign of prestige, power and showing off. Bernie probably emphasized that is what hosing the season finale is about, sold it to the Abu Dhabi organizers as such, and they bought it and no doubt paid a hefty premium for the privilege.

    Let’s make one thing clear though, the Abu Dhabi GP as a RACE is rubbish. Bar 2012 the race has been very dull, very sterile and devoid of almost any action. But as an EVENT, it is top notch. The facility is great, the weather is great, the transport links into the track are great, the promotion of the race is great, public awareness of the race is great, the concerts after the race are great etc etc etc. However, I have no illusions that the event is just that, an event. The majority of the people who come only come on race day, and they only come because it is the event to be at in the city that weekend. You can see how many genuine F1 fans there are at the race by looking at the stands during FP1. I fear it is much the same with races like Singapore. Abu Dhabi is on the calendar for good I think, but the race isn’t going to lead to an increase in UAE/Gulf participation in motorsport I’m afraid, it is being sold to the public as an event and will continue as such.

    1. petebaldwin (@)
      5th December 2013, 10:28

      It’s already been discussed to death but it would not be difficult to hugely improve the track layout. With the sort of money they have spent, you’d think they’d want a decent track rather than one widely accepted as the worst on the calendar.

      I quite like the first section and I don’t hate the end of the track. It’s the middle part that is horrible. It’s amazing that a track designed and built with no constraints on space can be so bad… I guess what makes it so annoying is that they could fix it. They have the money, the space and the time. All they need is a competent track designer.

  37. Seeing the calendar, I hope that Abu Dhabi can produce a 2012-like race!

    Shame that New Jersey and Mexico were dropped off. D:

    And Korea…
    The only thing I could say is that I’m gonna miss the posters that the Korean fans made. :P They’re really awesome!

  38. Terrible finish, it isn’t rocket science, always a good start with Australia and always a good finish in Brazil.

  39. @keithcollantine i thought Valencia was switching with Catalunya this year?

  40. Sad to see the Korean GP go, but its organization was a shambles. Putting it out around Mokpo was ridiculous, and made it very inconvenient to get to. Not sure it would have done much better if it had been put near Seoul or Busan (or along the main high speed train corridor), but it would have had at least a chance.

    Makes me think of all the World Cup stadiums they built and what a disaster they have been since the tournament. Would often go to the Busan I’Park matches and ‘enjoy’ the 1,500 person crowd in the nice big 50,000 seat stadium.

  41. That’s too bad korea and new jersey is off for the year. I really wanted like the new korean track. very performance oriented. bah, it’s all political.

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