F1 hopes for ‘relief’ of a stable 2022 calendar

Jamie Woodhouse
A sign giving guidance about avoiding the spread of COVID-19. Spa-Francorchamps August 2021.

A sign giving guidance about avoiding the spread of COVID-19 at the Belgian Grand Prix. Spa-Francorchamps August 2021.

Formula 1 sporting director Steve Nielsen said it would be a “blessed relief” if the 2022 calendar could be completed as planned.

The series has revealed a 23-race calendar for the 2022 campaign, which would mark the busiest season in Formula 1 history.

A first visit to the Miami International Autodrome awaits, the inaugural Miami Grand Prix scheduled for Round 5 of the season, while familiar venues of years passed are set to return after spending the past few years on the sidelines.

The Australian, Canadian, Singapore and Japanese GPs all fit that bill.

Their absence was of course as a result of the global pandemic, which meant that the 2020 and 2021 stagings of all of these events were cancelled.

Formula 1 has then been forced to adapt the calendar in-season for the past two campaigns, and this can not be ruled out for 2022 either.

That being said, it is very much the hope of the series that after two complex and demanding seasons of enforced change, the 2022 calendar will be completed as originally planned.

A wet F1 pit lane in Brazil. Interlagos November 2021.
Delayed Formula 1 freight finally arrives in the pit lane at Interlagos. Sao Paulo November 2021.

Speaking to GPFans, Nielsen said: “It will be very nice to return to a more normal way of planning.

“We have a calendar, we’ve had it for some months now. I hope for the first time in two years that we don’t have to change it, which would be a blessed relief for all of us.

“I hope that we can take that calendar and plan for it and actually deliver what’s on the paper at the moment. That’s certainly our aim, and that’s what we know right now.”

While Formula 1 did not complete the originally-scheduled calendar in 2021, the season nonetheless will be remembered as one of the greatest that Formula 1 has ever produced, headlined by a classic battle between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton over the Drivers’ Championship.

Nielsen hopes that this rivalry can carry on into the 2022 season, with all-new challengers designed to the overhauled regulations set to hit the track.

He also hopes that Formula 1 will finish the season on November 20 in Abu Dhabi as planned.

 

“It’s another season. I think it is nice to get at the end of one season, but there’s always something to look forward to. We had a great championship battle [last] year,” he said.

“We all hope that carries on into [this] year with the new cars, some new circuits coming, and an earlier finish to the season as well, which would also be really welcome. Hopefully, we won’t be racing in December.”

 

Explaining the new F1 flypast ban

F1 has banned military pre-race flypasts, for several reasons.