Next year’s F1 calendar to be confirmed in October, 24 races likely

In brief

Maximum 24 race cap likely to be hit in 2023, suggests Domenicali

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali expects to confirm details of next year’s schedule “around early October”, he told a call to Liberty Media investors yesterday.

Domenicali indicated the 2023 F1 calendar is likely to feature the maximum permitted 24 races. The series is endeavoring to reorganize some of its rounds to reduce the amount of travel and therefore cut costs and emissions.

“We would like to keep the right flow in terms of efficiency around the world, to consider the needs of a calendar to be spread out from March to November all around the world,” he said.

“The demand is very, very high,” for races, he added. “We cannot [say] anything more than what we are saying because we are, of course, finalizing all the details. But we for sure expect to have a couple of races more than this year, but less than 25, that’s for sure.”

Nato replaces injured Bird for Seoul season finale

Jaguar Formula E driver Sam Bird will miss the season finale double-header in Seoul, South Korea, after fracturing his hand early in the second London EPrix last weekend.

Norman Nato will step into Bird’s car for both races in Seoul, which will be hosting the all-electric championship for the first time. Nato previously competed in the series with Venturi last year, taking one race victory in the second Berlin EPrix.

It will be the first Formula E races without Bird on the grid, leaving Lucas di Grassi as the only driver to have started every Formula E race. He and the series will reach their centenaries of starts on Sunday.

Formula Regional Asian Championship adds Kuwait to 2023 schedule

The Formula Regional Asian Championship and the Formula 4 UAE Championship will both compete at the Kuwait Motor Town circuit for the first time during next year’s season.

The 5.6-kilometer grade one venue was opened in 2019 but has never previously held a round of the FRAC before. The Kuwait circuit will form one of five rounds in a 15 race schedule, beginning in Dubai in mid-January and closing in Abu Dhabi in mid-February.

This year’s FRAC drivers’ title was won by Ferrari academy driver Arthur Leclerc, younger brother of Ferrari F1 driver Charles Leclerc.

Grid penalty for Castroneves

Helio Castroneves has been given a six-place grid penalty for this weekend’s IndyCar race in Nashville after his team fitted his fifth engine of the season, exceeding his maximum limit of four. The Meyer Shank driver was 23rd out of 26 competitors in the opening practice session, which was led by Christian Lundgaard.

Links

Motor racing links of interest:

Vettel offered Formula E place after F1 exit by former Virgin racer (Mirror)

“I think a lot of the sustainability talks in F1 are not really making any difference, like saying ‘don’t use fossil fuels’ and then they’re sponsored by Aramco. Vettel has become, in the last few years, conscious about the state of the world and what he can do to make it better and use his platform as a sportsman to try to make the world a better place.”

Off Grid | Hungarian GP (Williams)

“The latest episode of Off Grid is brought to you from the glorious city of Budapest. We welcomed some of our super fans inside the paddock on Friday, Nicholas Latifi led a Williams one-three in FP3 in the wet and Jamie Chadwick continued her W Series title pursuit.”

Explaining the latest Technical Directives – and what they mean for porpoising (F1)

“F1 technical expert Sam Collins is on hand to explain just what the FIA ​​is up to, what it means for the teams, the timelines involved and whether we’ll see any more porpoising after the summer break.”

Opinion: Ricciardo’s situation at McLaren exposes F1’s brutal nature (Top Gear)

“And if McLaren’s game of lawyers and clauses comes to nothing, there’s always the option of simply paying up what Ricciardo would’ve earned and saying ‘cheerio’. That would likely mean parting with a sum of money quantifiable as A Lot, but given how public the fallout has been, it looks like the Woking team has decided to bite the bullet either way.”

Formula 4 aces to return for 2022 FIA Motorsport Games (FIA)

“Each FIA National Sporting Authority will have the opportunity to enter one driver to compete in the Formula 4 events which will be run at Circuit Paul Ricard.”

Ask Mick Schumacher (Haas via YouTube)

“You sent in questions for Mick Schumacher on social media – he answers some of them in the new edition of Ask Mick!”

F1 Teams Summer Break Evaluation (Conor Moore via YouTube)

“Red Bull, Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Gunther look back at the first half of the season…”

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On this day in motorsport

• 55 years ago today Denny Hulme led his Brabham team boss Jack Brabham in a one-two at the Nurburgring