The FIA release 2011 calendar - 20 races confirmed - The official schedule is revealed with the full twenty events
Published by Christine
Back in September, we pondered the announcement of a 20 race calendar, when the FIA released provisional dates for next year.
I think even the most ardent F1 fan is a little flustered by the idea of a season that begins mid-March and ends at the end of November. The off-season is starting to look very, very small. Yesterday, after a meeting in Paris, the FIA confirmed the dates for 2011, and although there are no changes from the provisional calendar, it bears repeating.
| Date | Race |
|---|---|
| March 13 | Bahrain |
| March 27 | Australia |
| April 10 | Malaysia |
| April 17 | China * subject to FIA approval |
| May 8 | Turkey |
| May 22 | Spain |
| May 29 | Monaco |
| June 12 | Canada |
| June 26 | Europe |
| July 10 | Britain |
| July 24 | Germany |
| July 31 | Hungary |
| August 28 | Belgium |
| September 11 | Italy |
| September 25 | Singapore |
| October 9 | Japan |
| October 16 | Korea |
| October 30 | India * subject to FIA approval |
| November 13 | Abu Dhabi |
| November 27 | Brazil |
The only change is the appearance of a star next to the Chinese GP in April. We pondered why this may be, but Manipe F1 went straight to the source to get this quote from the FIA:
The homologation licence for the Shanghai International Circuit has expired and before a new licence can be issued by the FIA some work on the track is required with particular regards to the current drainage system and the quality of the track surface.
- FIA
Of course, India still has the FIA approval process to go through, in a similar fashion to Korea this year. Well, hopefully in a much more organised fashion, really. It's worth keeping an eye on Karun Chandhok's Twitter account for updates as he seems to be well-informed.
Exactly 1 year to go to the first Indian Grand Prix.... work level has been ramped up massively since monsoons ended so all looks good !
karunchandhok
What are your thoughts on yet another new track? Is the calendar just too big now, or is Bernie doing the right thing by extending it every year? If we fast-forward a decade or so, will the off-season cease to exist?
