The final version of the 2017 F1 calendar sees a clash avoided with Le Mans but has lost the German Grand Prix from the original schedule.
As was the case in 2016, the first draft of the calendar saw the European Grand Prix in Baku scheduled to take place on the same day as the Le Mans 24 Hours. However, following a request from the Baku race organisers, the race – renamed the Azerbaijan Grand Prix – has now been pushed back by a week to avoid a clash and also prevent a repeat of the difficult Canada-Azerbaijan back-to-back of this year.
With the race in Baku being pushed back a week, the following rounds in Austria, Great Britain and Hungary also do the same. This is facilitated by the German Grand Prix dropping off the calendar altogether, with Hungary now the last race before the summer break on July 30.
In the latter part of the season, tweaks to the previous draft see Singapore host the first flyaway race after the Italian Grand Prix, with a two-week gap before Malaysia and Japan as was the case this season.
Further tweaks also mirror this year’s calendar with the United States and Mexico once again becoming a back-to-back pairing before the Brazilian Grand Prix, which is confirmed following doubts earlier this year. The season will finish with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on November 26.
The calendar was ratified during a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council in Vienna on Wednesday.
