Ecclestone confirms 19 races for 2013 season

Bernie Ecclestone

Bernie Ecclestone

Bernie Ecclestone has confirmed that the 2013 F1 world championship calendar will feature 19 rounds, as opposed to the original schedule, which until New Jersey’s demise, was set to have twenty grands prix.

F1 chief executive, Ecclestone opened up the twentieth slot to a potential new European venue, but he said on Tuesday that he could not now fill it “at this late stage”.

“I’m disappointed it [the 20th race] didn’t happen,” he said in Dubai on Tuesday, where he announced the airline Emirates as a major new F1 sponsor. “You can’t suddenly slot it in.”

However, the 82-year-old Briton was quoted by the Gulf News as saying 20 is the ideal number for future F1 calendars.

“Twenty races is more or less what we should aim for in a season,” he said.

Ecclestone said he was adamant Bahrain would host its grand prix as scheduled this year, because things seem “a little more peaceful” in the Kingdom in 2013.

Finally, he definitively dashed the hopes of a group of Canadian and American investors, who had hoped to buy up defunct HRT’s assets and race this season. (GMM)

2013 Grand Prix calendar:

Date Race Venue
15 – 17 Mar 01 Australian Grand Prix Melbourne
22 – 24 Mar 02 Malaysia Grand Prix Kuala Lumpur
12 – 14 Apr 03 Chinese Grand Prix Shanghai
19 – 21 Apr 04 Bahrain Grand Prix Sakhir
10 – 12 May 05 Gran Premio De España Catalunya
24 – 26 May 06 Grand Prix De Monaco Monte Carlo
07 – 09 Jun 07 Grand Prix Du Canada Montréal
28 – 30 Jun 08 British Grand Prix Silverstone
05 – 07 Jul 09 Grosser Preis Von Deutschland Nurburgring
26 – 28 Jul 11 Magyar Nagydíj 2013 Budapest
23 – 25 Aug 12 Belgian Grand Prix Spa-Francorchamps
06 – 08 Sep 13 Gran Premio D’italia 2013 Monza
20 – 22 Sep 14 Singapore Grand Prix Singapore
04 – 06 Oct 15 Korean Grand Prix Yeongam
11 – 13 Oct 16 Japanese Grand Prix Suzuka
25 – 27 Oct 17 Indian Grand Prix New Delhi
01 – 03 Nov 18 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Yas Marina
15 – 17 Nov 19 United States Grand Prix Austin
22 – 24 Nov 20 Grande Prêmio Do Brasil São Paulo