Taking a closer look at F1's 2023 Calendar

A Busy European Summer

The European contingent of races follows, with the usual stopover in Montreal, but there are some quirks for F1's summer of races from what we're used to seeing. Spain, for example, now follows Monaco rather than preceding the "jewel in the crown" event. Unfortunately, the alteration means there is a Miami-Imola-Monaco run of races, with the latter two as the start of a triple-header with Spain and all three not exhibiting much in the way of overtaking. Yawn.

For the second successive season, July features four races with a double-header double Austria with Britain and Hungary with Belgium but France drops off the calendar, meaning Belgium moves forward before the summer break. With Spa-Francorchamps now before the summer slowdown, Zandvoort takes up the mantle to be F1's late-August return to racing. This structure will see the orange army for Max Verstappen bookend the August break as the passionate Dutch fans travel en-masse to the nearby Belgian Grand Prix as well as Verstappen's home event.

As ever, Monza sees off the European leg, with the Italian Grand Prix again twinning with the Dutch race before F1 heads off for an Asian double-header of Singapore and Japan. If you're counting, that makes it four double-header races in a row and the fifth double-header of the seasonmy sympathy to the engineers, mechanics, and other F1 staff.

Frantic Flyaway Finale

Qatar breaks up the flyaway races in Asia and the Americas, with the Middle Eastern country beginning its long-term 10-year contract. Although the race at the Losail International Circuit in 2021 was due to be a one-off event before a new purpose-built venue took over hosting duties, it seems those plans won't come to fruition. So instead, Losail will host the 2023 event, at the very least. Qatar faces similar criticism as Saudia Arabia from critics of F1's chosen countries. Still, it reportedly will pay $55 million annually to welcome the sport, giving 55 million answers to where F1's priorities are when it comes to human rights and money.

A triple-header and double-header will end the 2023 season, so if Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen run away with the championship again, there won't be long to wait for everything to be over, at least. A whistle-stop tour of Austin, Mexico City, and Brazil await the teams from the end of October through early November. This flyaway triple-header has generated ire from the constructors, who the FIA reportedly did not consult before publishing the calendar, and will prove an exercise in endurance with three weeks away from home for all involved.

Just one month from the Texas-based US Grand Prix will be the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix (yes, there have been other Vegas races, but none carried the city's name in their titles) on the 18th of November. That date is significant because it confirms that the Vegas Grand Prix will be on a Saturday rather than a Sunday. That gives the teams a little more time to head to Abu Dhabi for the season finale at the end of November on the 26th, however.

There might be more stories to delve into, such as Monaco quietly gaining a three-year contract extension and Russia's unsurprising continued exclusion from proceedings, but from a simple racing perspective, there is a lot of racing crammed into a short time. So 2023 will come thick and fast, and F1 better hope that the quality of races will match the quantity, or it could be a long old season for both fans and teams.