FIA unveils 24-race 2027 F1 calendar with 10 sprints, Monaco to host first sprint
The FIA unveiled the Formula 1 calendar for 2027 on Wednesday, confirming a 24-race season that begins in Bahrain on March 14 and will include a record 10 sprint weekends, with Monaco scheduled to stage a sprint for the first time. Pre-season testing is set for the Sakhir circuit from February 24 to 27.
The schedule places Saudi Arabia as the second round on March 21 and adds two returns to the roster: Portugal on June 20 and Turkey on October 3. Those inclusions come at the expense of the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort and the Barcelona round, which have been removed from the 2027 calendar. The four Gulf races currently remain on the calendar without any special qualifiers, a position the governing body said could change depending on the ongoing conflict in the region. The release noted recent disruption in the Middle East, pointing to this year’s cancellation of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah and the movement of Bahrain’s race to Sepang in Malaysia, where it is scheduled to take place next month.
Monaco will operate a revised weekend format, featuring two qualifying sessions with Friday’s second practice replaced by sprint qualifying, which reduces available practice time at what the calendar called one of the most demanding circuits. The sprint winner will earn eight points, and a driver winning both the sprint and the Sunday grand prix can collect 33 points across that weekend compared with the usual maximum of 25. Organisers said the sprint addition is intended to deliver more competitive action across the Monaco weekend.
F1 expanded sprint usage after the 2026 season, which featured six sprint events, and F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali had indicated in August that the number would rise further, citing strong interest from circuits in hosting the format introduced in 2021. Formula 1 released figures showing sprint weekends attract 12 percent more total viewership than conventional race weekends and that qualifying is three times as popular with fans as free practice. Five venues will host their first-ever sprint next season: Bahrain, Melbourne, Suzuka, Monaco and Abu Dhabi.
A separate group of circuits will retain sprint status from previous seasons, with Canada, Silverstone, Monza, Interlagos and Lusail listed as returning sprint venues. The calendar produces concentrated blocks of sprint activity: three of the opening four rounds are scheduled as sprint weekends, and organisers applied the same pattern to the season’s closing sequence with three of the final four rounds also using the format.
After the Bahrain opener and the Saudi Arabian round, the season continues with Australia on April 4, Japan on April 11 and China on April 18, forming an early triple-header. Miami follows on May 2, with Canada on May 23 and Monaco on June 6; later in the year Azerbaijan on September 26, Turkey on October 3 and Singapore on October 10 form another three-race run. Austin, Mexico and Brazil are scheduled to complete a further triple-header between October 24 and November 7.
The campaign will extend later into the year than this season, with Qatar scheduled for December 5 and Abu Dhabi closing the championship on December 12, and both of those weekends designated as sprint events. The 2026 season is currently scheduled to end in Abu Dhabi on December 6, although that race could yet be shifted to Imola in Italy on the same date.