JUNE 25, 2003

The Formula 1 calendar in 2004

The FIA World Motor Sport Council met today and while it did not come up with a definitive Formula 1 calendar for next year, it did block 17 dates on which Grands Prix will be held.

The FIA World Motor Sport Council met today and while it did not come up with a definitive Formula 1 calendar for next year, it did block 17 dates on which Grands Prix will be held.

The list makes logical reading with the usual one-week break in the first week of July and then a three-week break before an August 15 race. The fact remains that there are 17 slots and a minimum of 19 races which want to be included on the F1 calendar.

Austria has little chance of being on the calendar again while Bahrain and China are both expecting to be included. The Belgian GP looks to be back on the schedule so that means that there are 18 races and 17 available slots. It may be that the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola will be axed to make way for Bahrain. The race cannot be held much later than the end of April because it will be too hot and the only other time that Bahrain would fit the calendar is if it was at the end of the year and it is expected that China will come into the calendar to be twinned with Japan.