The 2026 Formula 1 season will be the third time in as many years the championship consists of 24 rounds.
Fernando Alonso was the only driver from the current crop on the grid for the first race of the 21st century. During his time in F1 the number of events on the schedule has grown by 41%.
F1 also takes in a broader range of venues than before. In 2001, out of the 17 events which took place, 11 were held in Europe. That has fallen to nine despite the expansion of the calendar.
The mix of circuits has also changed. The calendar was predominantly made up of permanent facilities 25 years ago, but since then the number of street circuits (Baku, Las Vegas) and dedicated city venues (Miami, Las Vegas) has risen.
F1 calendar in 2001
1: Albert Park, Melbourne (Australia)
2: Sepang (Malaysia)
3: Interlagos (Brazil)
4: Imola (San Marino)
5: Circuit de Catalunya (Spain)
6: A1-Ring* (Austria)
7: Monte Carlo (Monaco)
8: Circuit Gilles Villeneuve (Canada)
9: Nurburgring (Europe)
10: Magny-Cours (France)
11: Silverstone (Great Britain)
12: Hockenheim (Germany)
13: Hungaroring (Hungary)
14: Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium)
15: Monza (Italy)
16: Indianapolis (USA)
17: Suzuka (Japan)
*The A1-Ring was rebranded as the Red Bull Ring in 2011
F1 calendar in 2025
1: Albert Park, Melbourne (Australia)
2: Shanghai International Circuit (China)
3: Suzuka (Japan)
4: Bahrain International Circuit (Bahrain)
5: Jeddah Corniche Circuit (Saudi Arabia)
6: Miami International Autodrome (USA)
7: Imola (Italy)
8: Monte Carlo (Monaco)
9: Circuit de Catalunya (Spain)
10: Circuit Gilles Villeneuve (Canada)
11: Red Bull Ring* (Austria)
12: Silverstone (Great Britain)
13: Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium)
14: Hungaroring (Hungary)
15: Zandvoort (Netherlands)
16: Monza (Italy)
17: Baku City Circuit (Azerbaijan)
18: Singapore (Singapore)
19: Circuit of the Americas (USA)
20: Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez (Mexico)
21: Interlagos (Brazil)
22: Las Vegas Strip Circuit (USA)
23: Losail International Circuit (Qatar)
24: Yas Marina (Abu Dhabi)
These trends are likely to continue into the future. The 2026 F1 calendar features a new street race at Madrid instead of Imola.
The 2027 F1 calendar will not include Zandvoort. F1 won’t visit Spa-Francorchamps in 2028, as the Belgian Grand Prix will only take place in alternate seasons.
F1’s calendar changes have come about partly because the series’ owners have sought to improve its popularity around the world, especially in target markets such as the USA. But the selection of venues F1 races at has always been a key part of its appeal and challenge. Has F1 made too many compromises in its pursuit of new markets?
I say
It’s easy to have rose-tinted glasses about past F1 seasons. There were undoubtedly parts of the 2001 calendar which weren’t especially successful.
Above all, for a ‘world’ championship it skewed heavily European, with Germany and Italy getting two rounds each. Some of the courses didn’t measure up well either. F1 always looked tame plodding around the flat and unchallenging Indianapolis road course compared to the IndyCars blatting around the oval at 370kph. Imola’s 2001 configuration didn’t have much to commend it either, and Red Bull Ring has always been a disappointment compared to its predecessor.
Conversely, today’s calendar has some excellent new additions to commend it, such as Austin’s superb road circuit and the remodelled Zandvoort. It also has a far broader range of locations.
But a 24-round season would feel like overkill even if every track was special. Today there are too many simplistic, uninspiring courses like Bahrain, Miami and Yas Marina. Depressingly, these venues also tend to have the longest contracts.
Not every change may have been for the worse, but if I had to pick either calendar it would be the ‘quality over quantity’ 2001 iteration.
You say
Has the F1 calendar improved over the first quarter of the 21st century? Cast your vote below and have your say in the comments.
Do you agree the 2025 F1 calendar is better than the 2001 F1 calendar?
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