Formula One to have a record 24 races in 2024 season
Formula One will have a record 24 races this season, which begins on Saturday in Bahrain. The calendar is as follows.
1. Bahrain (Sakhir) – March 2
The first race in the Middle East is celebrating its 20th anniversary, and it is held on a Saturday to accommodate Ramadan. The track is abrasive, and wind is also a factor. Lewis Hamilton has five wins in Bahrain. Fernando Alonso is the only driver still racing who competed in the 2004 season debut.
2. Saudi Arabia (Jeddah) - March 9
Sergio Perez won last year, one of only three races where Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen did not win. The Corniche layout is the season's second-longest and fastest street circuit. The event will also be held on a Saturday.
3. Australia (Melbourne) - March 24
Albert Park is home to McLaren's Oscar Piastri and RB's Daniel Ricciardo, but no Australian driver has ever won in Australia. Hamilton has a record eight pole positions in Melbourne, and McLaren has a record 11 wins.
4. Japan (Suzuka) - April 7
Held in September last year. Red Bull clinched the constructors' championship at Honda-owned Suzuka in 2023, with Verstappen claiming his second consecutive Japanese victory. Yuki Tsunoda of RB calls the figure eight circuit home. It's been 20 years since Ferrari's last victory, with Michael Schumacher in 2004.
5. China (Shanghai) - April 21
Shanghai, which hasn't had a sprint race since 2019, when Hamilton won for Mercedes, will finally have one. Guanyu Zhou of Sauber will be the first Chinese Formula One driver to race in front of his home crowd.
6. Miami – May 5
The fifth round of the season last year was a pivotal moment. Verstappen and Perez each had two victories, but Miami marked the start of Verstappen's record 10-race winning streak. This year marks the first time Miami will host a sprint. One of the three home races for Logan Sargeant of Williams Racing.
7. Emilia Romagna (Imola) – May 19
The anti-clockwise track was cancelled last year due to flooding, and it is fast, bumpy, and narrow. The track, named after Ferrari founder Enzo and son Dino, also honors Brazilian triple champion Ayrton Senna and Austrian Roland Ratzenberger, both of whom died during the 1994 race weekend.
8. Monaco – May 26
Monaco has history and glamour, and it is home to many drivers. The shortest track also has the most laps and the least amount of overtaking. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc has a chance to become the first home race winner.
9. Canada (Montreal) – June 9
The race followed Monaco and Spain last year. Lance Stroll of Aston Martin and his father, team owner Lawrence, will compete in their home race. Hamilton won his first Formula One race here, and has a seven-win record in Montreal (tied with Schumacher). Verstappen has won the past two.
10. Spain (Barcelona) - June 23
The start of a European triple-header with Austria and the United Kingdom. Verstappen took his first F1 victory here in 2016. Hamilton and Schumacher share the record of six wins. Alonso and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz are the home drivers.
11. Austria (Spielberg) – June 30
Red Bull's home race and another sprint race. There are only 10 corners and the race is the shortest in terms of time. Verstappen has won four times in Spielberg, which draws a sizable number of his Dutch fans.
12. Britain (Silverstone) – July 7
It has been on the calendar since season one in 1950, and it is a home race for Hamilton, teammate George Russell, and McLaren driver Lando Norris. Hamilton has a record eight wins, seven pole positions, and 13 podium finishes.
13. Hungary (Budapest) – July 21
Hamilton has a record eight wins. Verstappen earned his first F1 pole here in 2019, while Alonso won his first race here in 2003.
14. Belgium (Spa-Francorchamps) – July 28
Norris and Verstappen both have Belgian mothers, so Spa is somewhat of a home race. Verstappen has three victories in a row. A lap is the longest and one of the ffastest in Formula One.
15. Netherlands (Zandvoort) - August 25
Verstappen's home race. He has won every year since it was added to the calendar in 2021. Zandvoort, in the coastal sand dunes, has a distinct old-school feel.
16. Italy (Monza) – Sept 1
Ferrari's home race takes place at the Temple of Speed, located outside Milan. Hamilton and Schumacher have five wins each on a circuit with long straights and eleven corners.
17. Azerbaijan (Baku) – Sept 15
Held in April last year, Perez won for the second time in three years. It remains his most recent win. Baku's street circuit has been on the calendar since 2016, with Perez being the only repeat winner.
18. Singapore – Sept 22
Last year, Ferrari's Carlos Sainz won the only race that Red Bull did not win. The hot and humid night race is one of the season's most physically demanding events.
19. United States (Austin) – Oct 20
Austin, which will kick off the second triple-header of the year, will be another sprint race. All of the races at the undulating anti-clockwise Texas track have been won from the front row of the grid. Sargeant's only point came last year.
20. Mexico (Mexico City) – Oct 27
Verstappen has won five of the last six Mexican Grand Prix, and last year he became the first driver to win 16 races in a season. Hamilton won his 2017 and 2018 championships in Mexico.
21. Brazil (Sao Paulo) – Nov 3
Interlagos, the only circuit that has hosted a sprint every year since the format's debut in 2021, will do so again this year.
22. Las Vegas - Nov 23.
The renowned Strip made its F1 debut last year as the penultimate race, on a Saturday night. A loose drain cover caused havoc during practice. This is the third and final tripleheader of the season.
23. Qatar (Lusail) - Dec 1
Verstappen won his third championship in a row on a Saturday sprint last year. Qatar was the 17th round of 2023, held in October, when the extreme heat caused problems for the main race. The weekend is once again planned as a sprint.
24. Abu Dhabi (Yas Marina) – Dec 8
Verstappen has won this for the past four years, including a controversial victory over Hamilton in 2021.
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