United States Grand Prix remains on unchanged 2012 F1 calendar

2012 F1 calendar

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David Coulthard, Red Bull, Circuit of the Americas, 2011

The United States Grand Prix remains on the 2012 F1 calendar despite doubts over its future.

The organisers of the race at the Circuit of the Americas recently admitted they had failed to make payments to Bernie Ecclestone.

A deadline to secure the race’s place on the calendar passed earlier this week. Today the World Motor Sport’s Council confirmed the existing calendar for 2012 with no changes.

The Bahrain Grand Prix also remains on the calendar despite ongoing trouble in the region. The race was dropped from this year’s calendar following several deaths at pro-demcracy protests.

Here is the current 2012 F1 calendar:

Round Race Circuit Date
1Australian Grand PrixAlbert Park, MelbourneMarch 16-18th
2Malaysian Grand PrixSepang International CircuitMarch 23rd-25th
3Chinese Grand PrixShanghai International CircuitApril 13-15th
4Bahrain Grand PrixBahrain International CircuitApril 20th-22nd
5Spanish Grand PrixCircuit de CatalunyaMay 11-13th
6Monaco Grand PrixMonte-CarloMay 24-27th
7Canadian Grand PrixMontrealJune 8-10th
8European Grand PrixValenciaJune 22nd-24th
9British Grand PrixSilverstoneJuly 6-8th
10German Grand PrixHockenheimringJuly 20th-22nd
11Hungarian Grand PrixHungaroringJuly 27-29th
12Belgian Grand PrixSpa-FrancorchampsAugust 31st-September 2nd
13Italian Grand PrixMonzaSeptember 7-9th
14Singapore Grand PrixMarina BaySeptember 21st-23rd
15Japanese Grand PrixSuzukaOctober 5-7th
16Korean Grand PrixKorean International CircuitOctober 12-14th
17Indian Grand PrixBuddh International CircuitOctober 26-28th
18Abu Dhabi Grand PrixYas MarinaNovember 2nd-4th
19United States Grand PrixCircuit of the AmericasNovember 16-18th
20Brazilian Grand PrixInterlagosNovember 23rd-25th

View more information on the 2012 F1 calendar.

2012 F1 calendar

    Image © Red Bull/Getty images

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    Keith Collantine
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    36 comments on “United States Grand Prix remains on unchanged 2012 F1 calendar”

    1. Well, it’s good to know the race is still in place. I’m still looking forward to it.

      1. @prisoner-monkeys Ditto. Looking forward to it if only for the elevation change.

    2. although Bahrain on the other hand… I hate it how Bernie insists on taking f1 there next year. there is civil unrest on that tiny island, no matter how many have died, F1 should just forget about it for another year or drop it all together. It smacks of hypocrisy this whole scenario.

      1. ££££££££££££££££

        1. yeah, tell me about it! :D

      2. I like Bahrain being 4th, as it’s as it was in 2009, and when I try to remember the order of the races I always put it behind Australia, Malaysia and China.

        1. I like that it’s not the first race of the season as well, the problem being that when it’s inevitably dropped again, we’ll have an entire month between China and Spain.

    3. Iam-alright-Jack
      7th December 2011, 11:55

      With Bahrain on the calender it truely shows that F1 has no moral compass. What next, the Syrian GP?

      1. Nobody has any problems going to China GP.

        At least i haven’t heard of.

        1. My brother lives a perfectly happy life in china He has not been fired from his job and tortured to death.

          1. Your brother might not have been, but countless Chinese people have. Haven’t you heard of the Tiannamen Square Massacre? Beijing claims it never happened. Or the invasion of Tibet? Five thousand people died during the initial occupation, but officially, Tibet approached China and peacefully became a part of the enlighened Chinese Peoples’ Republic without a drop of blood being spilt. Or how about Falun Gong? Beijing may have tortured up to 65,000 people to death when their only “crime” was practicing a spiritual philosophy that abandoned Maoism.

            China is a country that has branded the Dalai Lama as “the greatest threat to Chinese culture and security”, effectively turning the spiritual and political leader of an entire nation known for its non-violent approach into Osama bin Laden. They have introduced laws that effectively give security forces the right to arbitrarily detain and imprison anyone without trial (or even giving them a reason why they have been arrested), and they regularly abuse ethnic miorities, particularly Tibetians and Uyghurs. And there are no laws in place forcing employers to ensure workers have decent working conditions. For every millionaire China has produced, there are a thosuand workers who have been abused and left impoverished who supported that millionaire’s rise to fortune.

            The real tragedy in China is that nobody really cares anymore. Bahrain has a few months of instability and everyone is up in arms. China has fifty years of systematic abuse and nobody so much as bats an eyelid at it. But hey, your brother hasn’t had any problems in China, so let’s all go racing there.

            I’ll join the chorus calling for an end to the Bahrain Grand Prix for political reasons when someone can explain to me why it is okay for Formula 1 to boycott Bahrain because of its human rights abuses, but visit China in spite of them.

            1. It is not Okay @prisoner-monkeys, but the fact the world is not fair and acting the same towards anyone is no reason whatsoever to effectlively support Bahrain going on as if nothing happened (and ignoring the fact government officcials did act very dubious) instead of solving their issues.

              Indeed, China might be too big a hurdle, at least for now, but if things start to change in Bahrain, it will/might slowly tip the balance in the world, eventually.

              So maybe in 30 years, China can then be different as well.

            2. Good points, but if Chinese rise up like Tinamein again i would support a boycott to support such an uprising… As things stand an F1 boycott of China would mean nothing.

            3. Oh, so a boycott is okay if Tiannamen happens again.

              It’s still going on.

              Haven’t you heard of the Golden Shield Project, also known as the Great Firewall of China? It’s nation-wide internet censorship introduced by the Chinese government that blocks Chinese citizens from accessing information on “culturally sensitive” subjects, including the Tiannamen Square Massacre, the Dalai Lama, and dozens of other subjects. Anybody who claims that Tiannamen happened or who shares information on it can be arrested as a “public nuisance”. Sure, you can’t see it the way the world could see the actual Massacre, but it still happens every day.

            4. “No swearing, insults, advertising or racial, sexual or similar discrimination.”

              There is non of that in the above…

            5. Do you know a single person who lives in china personally? I’m guessing not because if you did you would know the chinese people are happy. They may not have the best government in the world but they don’t care they live peacefully. living there is no different to any where else in the world they don’t have a fear of being tear gased or shot on their way to the shops. England and america sell weapons to terrorists and dictators and then go to war with them as soon as our oil reserves get low but you don’t come here saying we should boycott silverstone or cota or nj. The chinese people don’t need your 22 year old tears. China is not going through a civil war right now. The bahraini people on the other hand ARE STILL being crushed under a government boot as real as the tanks in tiannamen square in 1989 and could use all the support they can get. If you can’t see the difference there well, I WONT BE SURPRISED.

              Obviously the freedom of the bahraini people is somehow counter productive to your goals. Every chance you have had you have said what a wonderfull place it is and the food aint bad either you know, the kings a great guy to. Whilst every time someone mentions china you regurgitate this innacurate dribble. Your double standards would be funny if it wasn’t utterly staggering how little respect you have for people whose lives are being ruined. When the report came out the other week, you said you had read through the whole thing which stated that people had been tortured in ways that i feel ill to even type here. Your reaction to that was (thank god you’re the only person on f1 fanatic who thinks like this) IT HAPPENS EVERYWHERE MOVE ON LETS HAVE A RACE. When was the last time you were dragged from your place of work or home by your hair, held by the australian government had excrement forced down your throat and your genitals connected to a car battery. All the while your wife waiting in terror at home wondering if she will ever see you again or if they will come and get her and the kids? When was the last time you were beaten to death for expressing your self? What’s that pm? That’s never happened to a single citizen of australia? Now why don’t you A) develop some compassion for the innocent bahrainis and B) try living in china for a year or two before you decide to post such glaring inaccuracies of life there, attempting to compare the situation there now (happy people living perfectly normal lives) to what is going on in bahrain (civil war civilian vs military personnel authorised to use ultimate force openly fighting in the streets guns gas torture fear and subjugation).

            6. Do you know a single person who lives in china personally?

              Yes, I do. Over a hundred of them, in point of fact.

              you would know the chinese people are happy

              As a whole, yes. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t being oppressed. They just don’t know anything else.

              they don’t have a fear of being tear gased or shot on their way to the shops

              But they do have a fear of being arrested and imprisoned without charge, and likely sent to a prison without even know why they are going there.

              China is not going through a civil war right now

              Maybe not. But it’s not a case of being in a state of civil war, or not being in a state of civil war. There are degrees in between, other evils that can be committed. For example, Bejing has passed a law preventing the Dalai Lama from being reincarnated anywhere but China. This year, I was responsible for the wellbeing of residents ina university college, and I received a call at two in the morning from a group of terrified Bhutanese students who were being tormented by a group of Chinese residents. These Chinese believed that the Dalai Lama would be reincarnated in Bhutan, breaking the law, and so decided to take it out on the Bhutanese residents.

              The bahraini people on the other hand ARE STILL being crushed under a government boot as real as the tanks in tiannamen square in 1989

              So, too, are the Chinese people.

              Your reaction to that was (thank god you’re the only person on f1 fanatic who thinks like this) IT HAPPENS EVERYWHERE MOVE ON LETS HAVE A RACE

              No, that was not my reaction at all. My reaction is that Formula 1 has no buisness going around making political and moral statements like boycotting the race in Bahrain, and by calling for a boycott in some countries and not others, the fans reveal themselves to by hypocrites. For some reason, it is okay to have a race in China, but not in Bahrain, despite documents human rights abuses by both. The only reason why a race should be cancelled is because it is unsafe for drivers, teams, the media, fans and anyone else connected to the sport. Making political statements is a quagmire that will not end well for the sport.

            7. Imba seal

        2. That must be it then, Sherlock

          At least i haven’t heard of

    4. I think Will Buxton nicely stipulated the situation with Bahrain in his tweet earlier 2012

      Calendar confirmed. Whoopie!!! We’re going back to Bahrain. Last time I was there, so were the tanks, the fear and the shooting.

      Suppose its not that unlikely Bahrain will have to be cancelled shortly before the event is planned to happen again. Good luck COTA with showing how make-do, hands-on you guys over there are and build the track in time to have a great race in 11 months from now.

    5. The Statesman newspaper got a statement from the COTA people as well, saying they did agree on a 10 year deal with Bernie and the money was transferred today.

      1. Good news @BasCB! So you were right in saying the earlier press releases were just a negotiating tactic, good to see Bernie not reluctant to wait a bit for money, as usual :)

        1. Although that article had me laugh where it said:

          “Mr. Ecclestone received his check today for the USGP.

          – I know, they are the US Grand Prix, but on first reaction I read it as if Peter Windsor had found a check leftover after the USGP debacle and sent it in in support! For a moment, until reality came back.

        2. “good to see Bernie not reluctant to wait a bit for money, as usual :) ”

          Some say he has nothing but time ;)

    6. Good, I’m looking forward to the US GP. Hopefully it still goes ahead and doesn’t have to be cancelled last minute.

    7. Thank god for that. I liked the Austin track a lot more than the New York one… It’d be a shame to have the American GP in New York when you’ve got CotA there already…

      But.. That’s 2013’s argument…

      Hope Bahrain can sort themselves out for 2012, this year’s ‘on off’ decision making process was dreadful…

    8. I just wish all of those 20 races do take place.

    9. I hope the matter is settled finally. I have been wanting to make My travel arrangements for some time now. Im still gonna wait for a while to make sure though. When I’m certain, I will make plans for NY and Texas. Both seem promising…

      1. I will definitely try my absolute best to get to NY/NJ for the race in a couple of years.

    10. I know where i’ll be August 31st-September 2nd. Lovely stuff.

    11. How did I not notice this before? Looks like Friday practice for the Belgian Grand Prix will be on my country’s independence day! :)

      1. For the first time in 11 years. And qualifying hasn’t been on that day since 2002.

        1. @alexf1man All the more reason to love the Belgian GP :)

          1. Which is on BBC, but not Italy. Why can’t they drop Valencia?

    12. Anyone think it’s safe to start purchasing travel arrangements for the Austin race? Bernie got paid, the race is scheduled to be late in the season to give them ample time to finish the track, and barring an incompletion in construction, this should br a lock right? I can’t imagine the US failing when South Korea and India got their jobs done in the last two years.

      I wanted to book stuff early to avoid the inevitable scramble for plane and hotel tickets.

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