The season and the calendar
A Formula 1 season runs from early March to early December. Each event on the calendar is a round of the championship, and the rules allow up to 24 of them a year. The 2026 calendar was announced with 24 rounds, starting in Australia on 8 March and finishing in Abu Dhabi on 6 December.
The 2026 calendar
Plans changed during the season. The Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix, due in April, were cancelled because of the conflict in the Middle East. The Saudi race was not replaced. The Bahrain Grand Prix was later reinstated in October, but held at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia while keeping its name. That leaves 23 rounds.
2026 also brought a new venue, the Madring in Madrid, which hosts the Spanish Grand Prix. Barcelona stays on the calendar under the name Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.
Six rounds are sprint weekends: China, Miami, Canada, Britain, the Netherlands and Singapore.
How the calendar is put together
Formula 1 builds the calendar and the FIA's World Motor Sport Council approves it, usually in the autumn before the season starts. Circuits pay a hosting fee to hold a race, and many sign deals lasting several years. Some events rotate, sharing a slot on alternate years.
In recent years Formula 1 has tried to group races by region to cut down on travel and freight. That is why Canada now follows Miami in May rather than sitting on its own in June, and why the final races of the year come in clusters across the Americas and then the Middle East.
Races sometimes run on consecutive weekends. Two in a row is a double-header, and three in a row is a triple-header. They are hard work for team staff, who may be away from home for most of a month.
Day and night races
Most races start in the afternoon, local time. A few run under floodlights, either for the cooler evening temperatures or to suit European TV audiences: Singapore, Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi (which starts at sunset) are the regular ones. Las Vegas is held on a Saturday night rather than a Sunday.
Before the season: testing
Teams get very little time on track outside race weekends. Before the season, there are a small number of official pre-season tests where every team runs together. In 2026, because the cars were completely new, teams had an extra private test in Barcelona in January before two public tests in Bahrain in February.
During the season, testing is tightly restricted. More on this in testing.
The summer break
Every team has to shut its factory for two weeks in the summer, usually in August. Nobody is allowed to work on the car during that time. The break was brought in partly to give staff a proper rest, and partly to stop the bigger teams outspending everyone else by working through the holidays.
When the championship is decided
The titles are decided on points. Once a driver has a lead that no one else can catch with the points still available, they are champion, even if there are races left. Sometimes that happens with several races to go. In close years it comes down to the final round. See the Drivers' Championship for more.
The off-season
Between the last race in December and testing in February, the cars stay in the factory. Teams build next year's car, drivers sign new contracts or move teams, and new cars are revealed at launch events in January and February.