FIA books 19 dates

The dates, which include one extra race from the 18 this year, would seemingly allow the incorporation of the new Turkish event and enables existing venues - that were thought to be under threat - to stay on the calendar.

While 19 dates have been set aside, this does not mean there will be 19 races. Team bosses will certainly take some convincing and there are at least two grands prix that could disappear from the calendar - the French and San Marino Grands Prix - while the Turkish Grand Prix is the only new venue to be added having recently signed a seven-year deal to host a race.

Under the new calendar, there are three separate back-to-back races. The most significant of these are the June 26 and July 3 dates, which are scheduled a week later than the back-to-back weekends that hosted the Canadian and United States Grands Prix this year. Whether this has anything to do with the potential loss of the French GP, which usually runs on July 3, remains to be seen, but it is likely the British GP will take the July 17 slot leaving France with nowhere to go.

Yet it could be that the North American races switch to the June 5 and June 12 dates and the French and British races take the June 26 and July 3 slots.

F1 is restricted to 17 races, and any additional races needs approval from the teams, as was the case with this year's 18-race schedule. The 2004 Canadian GP was initially axed following a row over local legislation against tobacco advertising. It was then reinstated when compensation was agreed for teams to race without tobacco branding.

A provisional calendar that includes the circuit venues traditionally appears in September, which gives countries and teams enough time to put forward their cases. Expect a lot of noise on this issue in the coming months.



March 6
March 20
April 3
April 17
April 24
May 8
May 22
June 5
June 12
June 26
July 3
July 17
July 31
August 21
September 4
September 11
September 25
October 9
October 23