Ecclestone outlines 2007 calendar

The shape of the 2007 calendar continues to emerge, with Ecclestone revealing at Hockenheim some details about next year's schedule.

The F1 boss confirmed to autosport.com that there will be 18 races and no new additions to the calendar.

As already revealed this week, Australia has won back its prestigious slot as the first race of the season. The Albert Park event will be followed by the Malaysian and Bahrain Grands Prix.

As expected, there will be only one German race next year, although Ecclestone did not confirm that the GP will alternate between Hockenheim and the Nurburgring each year. But, as revealed by autosport.com, it appears almost certain that this will be the case.

Ecclestone also stated that there will only be one race in Japan. That means, with Toyota-owned Fuji having already been confirmed for 2007, the challenging Honda-owned Suzuka circuit will be lost to F1.

It had previously been thought that both circuits could remain on the calendar, at least for next year.

Traditional races such as the British and Belgian GP will be on the calendar, as will the French GP, although Ecclestone did not sound too pleased about it.

"Yes, unfortunately. Same old shit," said Ecclestone.

The final calendar, which is also expected to include the US GP at Indianapolis, will only be set in stone when it is ratified by the FIA World Council.