» F2: 2018 calendar confirmed

The FIA Formula 2 Championship will stage a 12-round, 24-race schedule in 2018, with all events supporting Formula 1 Grands Prix. Paul Ricardo and Sochi Autodrom have been added to next year’s roster.

The series’ return to France mirrors Formula 1’s return to the country, with the schedule mirroring the ‘triple header’ sequence that spans France, Austria and Great Britain over a four-weekend period.

Sochi will be the penultimate round of the season, replacing this year’s standalone event in Jerez, with the Russian Grand Prix moving from April to September next year.

Once again, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi will bookend the season.

“I am pleased to announce that next year’s calendar will hold 12 events alongside Formula 1,” Formula 2 CEO Bruno Michel said in a statement.

“One of our mission statements is to prepare young drivers to the next step: F1.

“Having all of our race weekends take place with F1 will help our drivers to learn as many F1 tracks as possible, but also to prove their race crafts directly in front of the F1 paddock.

“[The calendar] features one more event compared to this year, and is a good balance between racing on F1 circuits in Europe and overseas.”

A notable absentee from the 2018 calendar is a support event for the German Grand Prix, which returns to the Formula 1 schedule next year as part of the biennial deal signed between Hockenheim and Nürburgring. The latter subsequently withdrew from the event, meaning the German Grand Prix was cancelled in 2015 and 2017.

The Formula 2 Championship’s forebear, the International F3000 and GP2 Series championships, were both mainstays on the German Grand Prix schedule since 1990.

2017 FIA Formula 2 Championship Season Calendar
Date	Event	Location	Supporting
06-08 APR	Bahrain	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	Bahrain Grand Prix
27-29 APR	Azerbaijan	Baku City Circuit, Baku	Azerbaijan Grand Prix
11-13 MAY	Spain	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona	Spanish Grand Prix
24-26 MAY	Monaco	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	Monaco Grand Prix
22-24 JUN	France	Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet	French Grand Prix
29 JUN-01 JUL	Austria	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	Austrian Grand Prix
06-08 JUL	Great Britain	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	British Grand Prix
27-29 JUL	Hungary	Hungaroring, Budapest	Hungarian Grand Prix
24-26 AUG	Belgium	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	Belgian Grand Prix
31 AUG-02 SEP	Italy	Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Milan	Italian Grand Prix
28-30 SEP	Russia	Sochi Autodrom, Sochi	Russian Grand Prix
23-25 NOV	Abu Dhabi	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	Abu Dhabi Grand Prix