Provisional 2012 calendar - the longest season in history

[Dave B]

Source: World Motor Sport Council (http://fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pressreleases/wmsc/2011/Pages/wmsc-030611.aspx)

2012 calendar

The 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship calendar is confirmed as follows:


11/03 BHR Bahrain
18/03 AUS Australia
01/04 MYS Malaysia
08/04 CHN China
22/04 KOR Korea
06/05 TUR Turkey *
20/05 ESP Spain
27/05 MCO Monaco
10/06 CAN Canada
17/06 USA United States
01/07 ESP Valencia, Spain
15/07 GBR Great Britain
29/07 DEU Germany
05/08 HUN Hungary
02/09 BEL Belgium
09/09 ITA Italy
30/09 SGP Singapore
14/10 JPN Japan
28/10 IND India
11/11 ARE Abu Dhabi
25/11 BRA Brazil

* Subject to confirmation


:eek:

[Alfa Fan]

Get rid of Bahrain as first GP. Won't it be equally long this now Indian GP looks like being Dec 11?

[SGWilko]

Source: World Motor Sport Council (http://fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pressreleases/wmsc/2011/Pages/wmsc-030611.aspx)

2012 calendar

The 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship calendar is confirmed as follows:


11/03 BHR Bahrain
18/03 AUS Australia
01/04 MYS Malaysia
08/04 CHN China
22/04 KOR Korea
06/05 TUR Turkey *
20/05 ESP Spain
27/05 MCO Monaco
10/06 CAN Canada
17/06 USA United States
01/07 ESP Valencia, Spain
15/07 GBR Great Britain
29/07 DEU Germany
05/08 HUN Hungary
02/09 BEL Belgium
09/09 ITA Italy
30/09 SGP Singapore
14/10 JPN Japan
28/10 IND India
11/11 ARE Abu Dhabi
25/11 BRA Brazil

* Subject to confirmation


:eek:

How long before intergalactic races appear on the calendar..... :crazy:

[Dave B]

Get rid of Bahrain as first GP. Won't it be equally long this now Indian GP looks like being Dec 11?

No, this year will have 20 races if Bahrain goes ahead as announced. Next year will have 21 if it runs as published.

[The Black Knight]

A bit much.

20 races is the maximum really that I feel should be in a season. Ross Brawn is right in that it's pushing the boundaries of what the teams can be expected to do, and what their staff are expected to endure. They'll basically have little or no break between now and end of the year. Then they start straight back into it with development of the new car. Too much.

[Alfa Fan]

No, this year will have 20 races if Bahrain goes ahead as announced. Next year will have 21 if it runs as published.

In terms of length I was meaning length between first GP and last GP as opposed to the number of GPs.

[Dave B]

Funny how men always measure length in the way that best suits us... :eek:

[SGWilko]

Funny how men always measure length in the way that best suits us... :eek:

Mines big enough to fill a pram, OK?

[555-04Q2]

Bring it on!!!

[truefan72]

love it
21 races looks good to me

[truefan72]

A bit much.

20 races is the maximum really that I feel should be in a season. Ross Brawn is right in that it's pushing the boundaries of what the teams can be expected to do, and what their staff are expected to endure. They'll basically have little or no break between now and end of the year. Then they start straight back into it with development of the new car. Too much.

I understand Brawn's issues, but in terms of a racing series, F1 has always had room to grow in terms of its schedule length and although he complains, he probably would like the additional revenue and additional opportunities to gain more points. Sadly those who will struggle most ni a longer schedule would be the HRT, Lotus and Virgin teams.

[I am evil Homer]

Texas in the summer...could be interesting. Still seems like too many races to me

[Josti]

Way too crowded calendar imo, races are almost becoming a routine.

[Dave B]

Texas in the summer...could be interesting.

http://a3.twimg.com/profile_images/677220745/cooperman_black_normal.png (http://twitter.com/intent/user?screen_name=adamcooperf1)

@adamcooperf1 #F1 A little research shows average high temp in week of Austin GP is 33C. Although it hit 42C on June 14 1998...

[jens]

21 races sounds an incredible amount, but looking at the calendar... it doesn't look that insane. From early March to late November feels almost 'normal'.

[Sonic]

*whistles* that's a lot of races.

I never thought I'd say this, but......I think that might be a bit much. It's not so much the number of races, but the number of back-to-back races that must be a huge headache for the teams.

[Mark]

*whistles* that's a lot of races.

I never thought I'd say this, but......I think that might be a bit much. It's not so much the number of races, but the number of back-to-back races that must be a huge headache for the teams.

Agreed. The season should be from March to October with a race every 2 weeks, this gives about 18 races a year.

Mostly because I although I love F1 I don't want to be inside watching the race every Sunday. I already Sky+ a lot of them as it is.

20 is already too much, 21 is far too much.

[truefan72]

looks like Turkey is back on for sure...good. I do like that track

[Nikki Katz]

So much for Bernie saying there'd never be more than 20 races. Also, Australia the week after Bahrain? That'll be interesting logistically.

Obviously all this isn't the worst decision of the day, but it's still pretty silly.

[steveaki13]

A bit much.

20 races is the maximum really that I feel should be in a season. Ross Brawn is right in that it's pushing the boundaries of what the teams can be expected to do, and what their staff are expected to endure. They'll basically have little or no break between now and end of the year. Then they start straight back into it with development of the new car. Too much.

Don't worry about the humans involved, Bernie doesn't seem too. Just put on more races and earn more money, if team members collapse after going from Bahrain to Australia in one week, just replace them.

F1 must make rich people richer at all costs.

[steveaki13]

In all seriousness though, 21 races is too many.

17 or 18 would be ideal. 20 must always be the limit.

[Kevincal]

What F1 fan in his right mind would ever say there were too many races? PFFT! The more the better. Get rid of the 3 week breaks in the middle of the season too...

[steveaki13]

I'd rather see fewer races og high quality on good circuits that are challenging and historic than 30 races on new circuits like Bahrain and UAE.

Also you have to think about the mechanics and team members. It isn't just race day it would kill them going to a different race each weekend and as for the cost cutting scheme, that would be a problem too.

[Mark]

What F1 fan in his right mind would ever say there were too many races? PFFT! The more the better. Get rid of the 3 week breaks in the middle of the season too...

I don't agree with that view. There needs to be a decent amount of course. But would you want a race every day?

Plus some weekends in summer you want to go out on a Sunday afternoon.

As I've said upthread, 18 races, one every 2 weeks is about right.

[Kevincal]

Lets be real, sure, the drivers and mechanics have to travel and work a lot throughout the year but so doesnt all of us?! People in the F1 circus live a very charmed life and have tons of spare time, probably much more than the everyday people like us. As much money as F1 brings in I say the more races the better. 30 would be too much, but not 21. What would Ayrton Senna say about too many F1 races in a year? I doubt he would ever complain about too many races. ;) As long as they were safe.

I think the races should be planned out better though. too much criss crossing the globe.

[Ranger]

Lets be real, sure, the drivers and mechanics have to travel and work a lot throughout the year but so doesnt all of us?! People in the F1 circus live a very charmed life and have tons of spare time, probably much more than the everyday people like us. As much money as F1 brings in I say the more races the better. 30 would be too much, but not 21. What would Ayrton Senna say about too many F1 races in a year? I doubt he would ever complain about too many races. ;) As long as they were safe.

I think the races should be planned out better though. too much criss crossing the globe.

You're painting with a VERY broad brush there.

[Dave B]

Lets be real, sure, the drivers and mechanics have to travel and work a lot throughout the year but so doesnt all of us?! People in the F1 circus live a very charmed life and have tons of spare time, probably much more than the everyday people like us.
I'm sure there are plenty of mechanics whose full-time job involves being away from their families for half the year, and often working well into the night, who would disagree with you.

[Mark]

I'm sure there are plenty of mechanics whose full-time job involves being away from their families for half the year, and often working well into the night, who would disagree with you.

And not all of them are on six figure salaries either.

[jens]

People keep saying that the amount of races is too much, but one aspect is not taken into account. In the past we had in-season testing, which is now banned. So we have more races instead. Doesn't make much of a difference, does it? Except that Grand Prix is more profitable for teams as they get shown on live TV coverage, which is not the case with tests.

[gloomyDAY]

2012 Formula 1 calendar set for major overhaul - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.com (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/93442)

I like the revisions! Especially that the USGP will be in the fall rather than in the middle of a Texan summer.

[nigelred5]

Hell Yeah that is good news. My family from Houston was in town last week and said it will be just like this at the race in Austin,................ minus the 68 degree Ocean water to cool off in!

[bluegem280]

In all seriousness though, 21 races is too many.

17 or 18 would be ideal. 20 must always be the limit.

Besides the above penciled in the calender Russia has strong interest too, they may be in the queue to join F1. We may see 23 or 24 races or average two races per month in years coming. Considering off season and mid season break the crew/drivers itinerary would be too tight, imo. Agree, perhaps needs limit.

[Dave B]

2012 Formula 1 calendar set for major overhaul - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.com (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/93442)

I like the revisions! Especially that the USGP will be in the fall rather than in the middle of a Texan summer.
A cynic might suggest it's party because the track wouldn't be completed in time for the summer...

[wedge]

People keep saying that the amount of races is too much, but one aspect is not taken into account. In the past we had in-season testing, which is now banned. So we have more races instead. Doesn't make much of a difference, does it? Except that Grand Prix is more profitable for teams as they get shown on live TV coverage, which is not the case with tests.

But testing isn't televised and analysed as a race weekend. Besides, the casuals would find it utterly boring as would most drivers doing testing.


What F1 fan in his right mind would ever say there were too many races? PFFT! The more the better. Get rid of the 3 week breaks in the middle of the season too...

Because apathy is more likely just like NASCAR. "oh great, another cookie cutter 1.5m oval"; "oh great, we're off to another Tilkedrome", "oh great, another Top Gear feature where the presenters pretend to be retarded pr1cks"

The anticipation will lose so I suppose the Sky deal might be a good thing

[Dave B]

06/05 TUR Turkey *


PA are reporting that Turkey is no longer on the 2012 calendar.

[Mia 01]

Looking forward to it. 21 or moore, ha, the crews earn good money to.

[F1boat]

Agreed. The season should be from March to October with a race every 2 weeks, this gives about 18 races a year.


This.