Paris - Formula One’s governing body has officially signed off on the 21-race calendar for the 2019 world championship following a World Motor Sport Council meeting on Friday.
The calendar essentially confirms the provisional schedule released by F1’s owner Liberty Media in August.
The season will begin on March 17 at the Australian Grand Prix and finish on December 1 in Abu Dhabi. Europe gets 11 races while five will be held in Asia, four in the Americas and one in Australia.
China, however, will play host to Formula One’s milestone 1000th grand prix, scheduled for April 14.
17th March
Australia
Melbourne
31st March
Bahrain
Sakhir
14th April
China
Shanghai
28th April
Azerbaijan
Baku
12th May
Spain
Barcelona
26th May
Monaco
Monaco
9th June
Canada
Montreal
23rd June
France
Le Castellet
30th June
Austria
Spielberg
14th July
Great Britain
Silverstone
28th July
Germany
Hockenheim
4th August
Hungary
Budapest
1st September
Belgium
Spa
8th September
Italy
Monza
22nd September
Singapore
Singapore
29th September
Russia
Sochi
13th October
Japan
Suzuka
27th October
Mexico
Mexico City
3rd November
USA
Austin*
17th November
Brazil
Sao Paulo
1st December
Abu Dhabi
Yas Marina
The FIA also approved a number of technical rule changes, including the alignment of overtaking protocols once safety cars return to the pits.
This is to ensure that there is a consistent point at which drivers may overtake when the safety car returns to the pits, and this will now be the same in all three types of restart.
Furthermore, the teams will now be responsible for initial scrutineering of their cars. Before the cars go on track for the first time, teams must declare conformity with all safety related matters, says the FIA.
Finally, the official end-of-race signal will now be a chequered light panel, although the chequered flag will still be shown for old time's sake.
The governing body also announced a series of technical changes for 2020.
These include changes to the mirrors and rear wing height, to improve rear visibility, and minor modifications to the halo to allow for easier driver extraction.
In addition, the on-board camera regulations will be modified to improve TV spectacle.