F1 and teams left ‘angry’ following release of 2023 calendar

Tensions between Formula 1 teams and the sport’s governing body, the FIA, have reportedly grown following the release of the 2023 calendar.

Next year’s schedule was released by the FIA earlier this week. While a record-breaking 24-race calendar was no surprise, the make-up of the schedule has raised eyebrows, particularly in light of F1’s desire to be carbon neutral by 2030.

Miami will follow Baku in back-to-back races while none of the Middle East events have been grouped together. There will be a two-week gap between the first two races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia while returning Qatar will be in October.

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There are two triple-headers – Emilia Romagna/Monaco/Spain and USA/Mexico/Brazil – while the season finale in Abu Dhabi comes just a week after the new Las Vegas Grand Prix. Both the manner of the announcement and the calendar itself have left F1 owners Liberty Media and the teams unhappy, reportsThe Guardian.

The unveiling of the calendar caught teams by surprise, leaving them “angry and frustrated”. It is claimed the schedule was released without the teams' approving the USA/Mexico/Brazil triple-header. One team member told The Guardian that the FIA’s attitude was “unacceptable”.

It is also reported that the calendar was released without the usual collaboration with F1 itself, leaving the sport’s commercial rights holders “surprised”.

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The announcement that the Monaco Grand Prix, a race that had been under threat, would stay on the calendar until at least 2025 is also said to have caught F1 and the teams cold.

There was already disgruntlement towards the FIA over their running of races in recent years. Their handling of last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which cost race director Michael Masi his job, is the most obvious example, but other decisions in recent years have caused unrest too.

The governing body was widely criticised for allowing the recent Italian Grand Prix to finish under a safety, denying fans at Monza and around the world a potential grandstand finish.

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