2018 F1 calendar: Germany and France return, Malaysia drops

As the 2017 Formula One race calendar comes to a close, it is worth looking at 2018's bumper calendar to whet the appetite for the beginning of next season, moving up to 21 races as Germany and France return to the calendar while Malaysia drops out

Liberty Media are looking to expand the product and spread the races around the world as much as possible in the future, with as many as 25 races a year allegedly their target.

For 2018, we have 21 Grands Prix with the first taking place in Melbourne on March 25.

The highlight of the calendar is undoubtedly the first ever triple-header across three weekends. The first of these sees the return of the Paul Ricard circuit in France for the first time in a decade on June 24 and this will be followed by the Austria GP at Red Bull Ring, then the British GP at Silvertone. There will be five races in six weeks before the summer break in August.

The order of the races remains largely consistent with 2017 with a couple of minor changes. The first and last races being at Australia and Abu Dhabi respectively are the same, but the Russia GP at Sochi has been moved to the end of September while the Azerbaijan GP in Baku is two months earlier on 29 April.

Germany returns at Hockenheim after missing this season, and the only doubts on the calendar right now remain Shanghai and Singapore, with the two Asian courses yet to sign off due to new hosting contracts.

This expansion seems to be just the beginning for Liberty Media, who are aiming to target the likes of New York City and Las Vegas for Grand Prix races in the future.

2018 calendar: