F1 Calendar for 2021/2022 Season Reduced to 23 Races
The Formula 1 calendar for the 2021/2022 season has been reduced from 24 to 23 races. The Chinese Grand Prix, which was provisionally scheduled for April 16th, had to be cancelled due to ongoing restrictions in China related to COVID-19.
With the Australian GP taking place on April 2nd and the Azerbaijan GP scheduled for April 30th, there will now be a three-week gap between these events. F1 did consider other options such as moving the Azerbaijan race forward or finding an alternate race venue but this idea didn’t progress far.
Although Chinese authorities had hoped that their race could either take place on its original date or by swapping its April slot with another venue, this has also been ruled out. A statement released by F1 said: “Formula 1 can confirm that the 2023 season will consist of 23 races. All existing race dates on the calendar remain unchanged”.
Implications of Reduction To A 23-Race Schedule
The reduction in races from 24 to 23 has several implications in terms of restricted components that teams can use throughout the year. In terms of gearboxes, teams are limited to four instead of five for a full campaign whereas each driver is allowed three power units regardless of how many races are held..
Other implications include changes in aerodynamic and fuel regulations with fewer races taking place which may affect team strategies and performance over the course of a season..
Overall however, it appears that most changes resulting from this reduction have already been accounted for so teams should still be able to compete at their best during every event..
Source: formula1.com
