It's a shame about Vietnam, I even had the hotel booked for this year. But it seems the politician who was pivotal in getting this on the calendar has been caught with his hands in the till (not this one, but who knows?). I understand Liberty are still trying to persuade Vietnam to go ahead with it but it isn't looking good.
Otherwise a massive 23 races on the calendar next year.
Formula 1 revealed today its provisional calendar for the 2021 season. Barring any more pandemic-related global shutdowns, 2021 will be the most race-packed year of any season in history, with 23 events planned.
The 2021 championship will kick off in Melbourne on March 21, before heading to Bahrain, then Shanghai. A venue for the fourth race, set to be held in late April, has yet to be decided after plans for an event in Vietnam were scrapped. It's likely F1 will bring back one of the one-off circuits used for the 2020 season—Imola, Mugello, the Nürburgring, or Portimão—to fill the slot.
After that, the series bounces around Europe for a bit, hitting Spain and Monaco in May. It then heads to Azerbaijan before leaving for Canada, then comes back to Europe to race in France, Austria, the U.K., Hungary, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Italy. From there, it heads East to Russia, bouncing to Singapore, then Japan. After that, the championship goes to the Americas, with races in Austin, Mexico City, and Sao Paulo.
A big change change is the addition of a Saudi Arabian Grand Prix happening late in the season, first announced last week. It's followed by the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The full provisional schedule can be seen below.
Provisional 2021 F1 calendar
- 21 March – Australia (Melbourne)
- 28 March – Bahrain (Sakhir)
- 11 April – China (Shanghai)
- 25 April – TBC (TBC)
- 9 May – Spain (Barcelona)
- 23 May – Monaco (Monaco)
- 6 June – Azerbaijan (Baku)
- 13 June – Canada (Montreal)
- 27 June – France (Le Castellet)
- 4 July – Austria (Spielberg)
- 18 July – United Kingdom (Silverstone)
- 1 August – Hungary (Budapest)
- 29 August – Belgium (Spa)
- 5 September – Netherlands (Zandvoort)
- 12 September – Italy (Monza)
- 26 September – Russia (Sochi)
- 3 October – Singapore (Singapore)
- 10 October – Japan (Suzuka)
- 24 October – USA (Austin)
- 31 October – Mexico (Mexico City)
- 14 November – Brazil (Sao Paulo)
- 28 November – Saudi Arabia (Jeddah)
- 5 December – Abu Dhabi (Abu Dhabi)
It's important to note this calendar isn't final—Formula 1 still has yet to finalize contracts with race organizers in Spain and Brazil.