F1's provisional 2022 calendar released

Formula 1

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F1's provisional 2022 calendar released

Season starts and ends in the Middle East

Ian Parkes

Monday 20 September 2021 13:47 Updated: 13:52

F1 has released a record-breaking 23-race provisional calendar for 2022 that is set to be covered across just 36 weeks.

The breathless schedule starts and ends in the Middle East, with Bahrain providing the curtain-raising event on March 20, and Abu Dhabi closing the campaign exactly eight months later on November 20.

Along the way, as F1 squeezes in the remaining 21 races, there are a trio of triple-headers, which will frustrate a number of teams.

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Only recently, McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl and Hass counterpart Guenther Steiner made clear they no longer wanted triple-headers on the calendar due to the demands placed on staff, particularly those on the road.

The first of those is across the first three weekends of July, with Silverstone hosting the opener on July 3, followed by Austria and then either France or Imola, with the former the favourite at this stage.

Like this year, the second half of the season will commence with a visit to Belgium, the Netherlands and Monza, followed by a weekend off before the final and most demanding triple-header of Russia, Singapore or Turkey, and Japan.

Singapore's place is in doubt due to its stringent Covid-control measures, although it is hoped the situation will have eased significantly to allow it to return after a two-year absence.

Australia also finds itself in a similar position. At present, it is slated to be the third race on the schedule on April 10 following a Bahrain-Saudi Arabia opening double-header.

But the country's vice-like policy on the pandemic means it could be positioned later in the year, as was due to be the case this season before its eventual cancellation.

In opting to end the calendar on November 20, there is wiggle room for F1 to slot the Melbourne race into a stand-alone mid-November date and push back the planned season-ending double-header in Brazil and Abu Dhabi, with the latter on December 4.