Formula 1 2027: 24 Races, 10 Sprints, New Calendar

Formula 1 has laid down its 2027 roadmap, and it’s a statement of intent: 24 Grands Prix, 10 Sprint weekends, and a season that starts under the lights in Bahrain and ends in the Gulf with Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

The volume stays the same. The shape does not.

Bahrain opens, Sprints ramp up

Bahrain remains the championship’s launchpad. A four-day pre-season test runs from February 24-27, before the first race weekend of the year on March 12-14 – and that opener will double as a Sprint weekend. Saudi Arabia follows a week later, keeping the early-season Middle Eastern swing intact despite the uncertainty that delayed this calendar announcement.

F1 had held back the release while monitoring the conflict in the Middle East, with this year’s Qatar and Abu Dhabi rounds still sitting in a cloud of doubt. For 2027, at least on paper, the sport commits to finishing there – and to doing it with back-to-back Sprint weekends.

The Sprint format, introduced as a curiosity and then a battleground of opinion, now becomes central. The number of Sprint events jumps from six to 10. Half the calendar? No. But enough to shape a title race.

Old favourites return, Zandvoort drops out

The headline changes sit in Europe. Portimao and Istanbul Park, two circuits that rescued pandemic-era seasons and quickly won fans over, are back on the full-time schedule. Portugal lands a mid-June slot, while Turkey forms part of a bruising late-season triple-header.

Someone had to make way. This time, it’s Zandvoort. The Dutch Grand Prix, revived in a blaze of orange and Max Verstappen mania, falls off the 2027 schedule. No rotation, no placeholder date. Just gone, at least for now.

There is a compromise elsewhere. Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya moves into a rotational deal with Spa-Francorchamps. From 2027, Belgium will run in odd-numbered years, with Spain – now in Madrid – taking the even years from 2028. It’s a political solution to an overcrowded calendar, but one that underlines how fierce the fight has become to stay on it.

Australia, Japan, China anchor early flyaways

After Bahrain and Jeddah, the circus heads to more familiar early-season ground. Australia returns to the third round of the season in early April and joins the Sprint club. Japan follows, also with a Sprint, before China closes out a demanding triple-header that will test the new generation of 2026-spec cars to the limit.

Miami holds its now-traditional early May slot, a permanent fixture on the calendar’s American expansion plan.

Then the Sprint spotlight swings to Canada and, for the first time, Monaco.

Monaco gets a Sprint – two days of jeopardy in Monte Carlo

Monaco’s inclusion as a Sprint weekend might be the most eye-catching tweak of all. Around the unforgiving streets of Monte Carlo, F1 promises fans “two thrilling qualifying sessions” – one for the Sprint, one for the Grand Prix.

On a track where overtaking is a rarity and grid position is gold, two shots at setting the order will change the rhythm of the weekend entirely. One mistake could ruin both races. One inspired lap could define a season.

Silverstone Sprint, Portimao returns, Austria shuffles

After Monaco, the calendar breathes briefly before the returning Portuguese Grand Prix in mid-June. Portimao’s flowing layout and elevation changes made it a drivers’ favourite when it stepped in during 2020 and 2021; now it’s back with a permanent place.

The British Grand Prix at Silverstone hosts a Sprint weekend from July 2-4, a natural fit for a circuit that usually delivers wheel-to-wheel racing. Austria moves to the slot after Silverstone, tightening the European core of the calendar.

Back-to-back weekends in Belgium and Hungary then carry the sport into the summer break. Spa keeps its place for 2027 before its rotation with Barcelona begins, a small victory for traditionalists who feared for the future of one of F1’s great temples.

Five-week break, then Monza lights the fuse

The summer shutdown stretches to five weeks, a week longer than usual. When F1 returns, it does so with a bang: a Sprint weekend at Monza in early September.

The “Temple of Speed” will host the first race back, with the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid a week later. The move from Barcelona to the Spanish capital marks a broader shift, blending city-race spectacle with the sport’s push into new markets, even within its European heartland.

Brutal run-in: Baku, Istanbul, Singapore to Americas swing

From Europe, the calendar turns unforgiving. Azerbaijan, Turkey and Singapore form a late-season triple-header that will stretch teams, drivers, and freight to the limit. Baku’s long straights and tight walls, Istanbul’s high-speed sweepers, and Singapore’s punishing heat and humidity make for one of the most varied three-week runs the sport has ever attempted.

Then comes the now-familiar Americas triple-header: Austin, Mexico City and São Paulo. Brazil remains a Sprint weekend, a logical call given Interlagos’ record for chaos, drama, and title-defining afternoons.

Vegas under the lights, Gulf double Sprint finale

Las Vegas keeps its unique billing as the only Saturday race of the year – though for UK viewers it lands on a Sunday morning. The strip stays central to F1’s US strategy, a glitzy, late-season showpiece that feeds straight into the title run-in.

From there, the championship flies back to the Middle East for a final double hit. Qatar and Abu Dhabi both run as Sprint weekends on December 10-12, closing the season with two compressed, high-stakes formats where every session matters.

If the titles are still alive by then, those final two weekends could be brutal.

Domenicali and Ben Sulayem hail global reach

F1 president Stefano Domenicali framed the 2027 calendar as a showcase of the sport’s reach and ambition.

“The 2027 calendar brings together some of the most iconic circuits and vibrant cities in the world, creating an incredible stage for another unforgettable season of Formula 1,” he said, welcoming Portugal and Turkey back and highlighting the expansion to 10 Sprint events as a way to deliver “more intensity, drama, and the wheel-to-wheel action that make our sport so special.”

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem called the schedule “a strong reflection of the global appeal and continued growth of our sport,” pointing to 24 Grands Prix across five continents, the returns of Portugal and Turkey, and an expanded Sprint programme that aims to blend “tradition, innovation, and fan engagement” while keeping what he described as the highest sporting standards.

The message from the top is clear: more races, more Sprints, more markets – and no sign of the calendar shrinking.

What remains to be seen is how teams, drivers, and fans cope with another 24-race marathon, now laced with 10 weekends where the action starts earlier, the margin for error shrinks, and every lap carries a little more risk.