France-Austria-Britain to take place on consecutive weekends in June and July 2018; Singapore and China awaiting new contracts
Monday 26 June 2017 12:57, UK
A 21-race calendar for the 2018 F1 season has been revealed, with the sport's first triple header the standout change.
As previously announced, the F1 schedule reverts to a joint-record 21 races next year with France and Germany returning while Malaysia drops out.
The dates and order of the events have now been confirmed, with the return of France at Paul Ricard on June 24 the first of what is scheduled to be three grands prix in as many weekends - an F1 first.
After the French GP on the final weekend of June, the sport will head straight to the Red Bull Ring for the Austrian GP on July 1 before then going to Silverstone for the British GP on July 8.
In total, between June 24 and July 22, there will be five grands prix in six weekends ahead of the usual August summer break.
The order of the races is largely the same as this year, with a couple of notable changes.
The Azerbaijan GP in Baku will take place two months earlier on April 29, while the Russian GP in Sochi has been moved back to a late September slot after hosting this year's fourth round.
Both the Singapore and Chinese GPs remain subject to confirmation pending new hosting contracts.
The season will begin in Australia on March 25, the same weekend as this year, and end in Abu Dhabi on November 25.
France is returning to the calendar for the first time in a decade, with Paul Ricard's own absence dating back over 25 years.
Germany, another of F1's most historic grands prix, has remained a more consistent presence on the calendar but has appeared only once every other year since 2015 at Hockenheim after the collapse of the circuit's race-share agreement with the Nurburgring.
While next year's 21 races will match the record set in 2016, Liberty Media, F1's new owners, are thought to be keen to increase the calendar to around 25 events towards the next decade with a focus on "destination cities" such as New York and Las Vegas.
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