The Monaco Grand Prix will remain on the Formula One calendar after the sport’s governing body rubber-stamped a record 24 races for next year.
Formula One’s street race in Monte Carlo had been in some doubt, with the most recent event in May set to be the last unless a new deal between the Automobile Club de Monaco and the sport’s American owners Liberty Media could be agreed.
But the International Automobile Federation (FIA) has confirmed that the round in the principality will take its traditional slot on the final Sunday of May in 2023 after a three-year contract extension was reached.
The 2023 campaign is set to open in Bahrain on 5th March and close in Abu Dhabi on 26th November following the most races ever staged in a single season – two more than the record-equalling 22 this year.
The Las Vegas Grand Prix, the only new entry on the calendar, will be the penultimate round on 18th November – one of three races in the United States next year – while the global motorsport series is set to return to China for the first time since 2019 with a round in Shanghai pencilled in for 16th April.
However, there is still some doubt as to whether the race will go ahead amid the country’s coronavirus restrictions.
The British Grand Prix will take place on 9th July, avoiding a clash with the men’s Wimbledon final (16th July) and the final round of golf’s Open Championship at Hoylake (23rd July), while Qatar – which staged its first Formula One race in 2021 – returns after a one-year absence.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said: “The presence of 24 races on the 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship calendar is further evidence of the growth and appeal of the sport on a global scale.
“The addition of new venues and the retention of traditional events underlines the FIA’s sound stewardship of the sport. I am delighted that we will be able to take Formula One’s new era of exciting racing, created by the FIA’s 2022 Regulations, to a broader fan base in 2023.”