FIA releases 2016 Formula 1 calendar

The inaugural Australian Grand Prix is scheduled for April 3rd, the season’s latest start since 1998.

The FIA authorised and approved a record 21 race calendar for the 2016 Formula 1 season. The schedule, which gives Australia the honor of hosting the inaugural race, was announced following a World Motorsport Council meeting in New Mexico. Although it was cancelled this year, the German Grand Prix still remains on the calendar. So far it isn’t clear whether Nurburgring or Hockenheim will be the venue.

However, the highlight of the schedule was the first ever Baku Grand Prix in Azerbaijan. Scheduled for July 17th , it will be run under the European Grand Prix banner. Among other talking points of the calendar is the moving of the British Grand Prix forward by two weeks to June 26th , which avoids a clash with the Wimbledon Tennis Championships for the first time in several years. Also, the next season will also have a record of seven back to back races.

There was also a reshuffle of a couple of races. The Russian Grand Prix in Sochi was shifted to April while the Malaysian Grand Prix was moved back from March to September, after the organisers requested a later date when their new deal was announced until 2018.

Here’s the schedule:

Date	Race
April 3rd	Australian Grand Prix
April 10th	Chinese Grand Prix
April 24th	Bahrain Grand Prix
May 1st	Russian Grand Prix
May 15th	Spanish Grand Prix
May 29th	Monaco Grand Prix
June 12th	Canadian Grand Prix
June 26th	British Grand Prix
July 3rd	Austrian Grand Prix
July 17th	Azerbaijan Grand Prix
July 31st	German Grand Prix
August 7th	Hungarian Grand Prix
August 28th	Belgium Grand Prix
September 4th	Italian Grand Prix
September 18th	Singapore Grand Prix
September 25th	Malyasian Grand Prix
October 9th	Japanese Grand Prix
October 23rd	United States Grand Prix
October 30th	Mexican Grand Prix
November 13th	Brazilian Grand Prix
November 27th	Abu Dabi Grand Prix