F1 and Liberty media plan major shuffle of calendar by moving Japanese GP to March: Reports

F1 is apparently proposing a schedule revision beginning with the 2024 season in order to decrease its environmental effect. The new strategy, on the other hand, will have to deal with difficult weather and locations.

Due to its planning, Formula 1 has faced regular criticism in recent years. Many people criticize the sport of leaving a large carbon footprint, owing to its often irresponsible trips throughout the world. The Miami Grand Prix and Canadian Grand Prix, for example, are considered particularly detrimental in the 2023 calendar since they lie between European events.

Hence, to decrease its carbon footprint, the pinnacle of racing is apparently considering a "massive overhaul of its calendar." In a recent report, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali told the teams in Melbourne that he intends to adopt a regionally-based calendar in the future.

With this religious event lasting until April 8th, no other races in Muslim countries can be held for five weeks, so Domenicali's plan is to move the Australian Grand Prix forward by two weeks, to March 17th, right at the end of the local summer, but then wants the Chinese Grand Prix to return on March 24th, followed by the Japanese Grand Prix on March 31st.

The revised calendar would also include a triple header featuring Australia (17th March), China (24th March), and Japan (31st March). While nothing has been established, if such preparations are carried out, teams will have to contend with unfavorable weather conditions in Suzuka.

If the plans to transfer the Japanese Grand Prix from the end of September to the end of March ever materialize, things might become much more problematic. It would make a lot more sense to schedule the Singaporean Grand Prix as the event that comes after the Melbourne event and then move north to Shanghai, leaving Suzuka out of this calendar shuffle.

This is being perfectly shown by this weekend's Super Formula opening round at Fuji Speedway. At this time of year, it tends to be much too wet and very cold for motor racing events to be held.

The 2024 schedule is uncertain after that, while the same rumors claim Domenicali has set the objective of having a season made up of 25 events. However, it remains to be seen how the demands of the sites, the weather, and the welfare of the teams' staff will interact with F1's ambitions to grow and improve.

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F1 teams have reached an agreement on changes to the sprint race format for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

F1 will skip Saturday's practice session, which traditionally precedes the sprint race, in favor of a separate qualifying session for that event, pending official approval. It means that the race for the grand prix on Sunday will now be decided by Friday's qualifying session, with the outcome of the sprint having no influence on how a driver begins the main race.

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix will feature a new sprint format following unanimous agreement among the teams to make the change. The top eight finishers in a sprint race will be awarded points in the following order: 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali recently sparked a stir by stating that he believes canceling all practice sessions would help F1 from a viewer standpoint.