The opening race of the year will take place a week earlier than last season, with Melbourne once again hosting the season opener, and Abu Dhabi — as has become tradition — bringing the championship to a close.

Once again, the 2026 season will feature 24 Grands Prix — plus six sprint events — making for a total of 30 races spread between March and December, resulting in an extremely packed calendar that is richer than ever in terms of on-track action.

The main change is the removal of the Imola Grand Prix, meaning Italy loses its second race on the calendar. Spain, meanwhile, gains an extra round with the addition of Madrid, which will join Barcelona on the schedule at different points of the season.

As for the Sprint calendar, the 2025 season featured six Sprint weekends at Shanghai in China, Miami in the United States, Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, Austin at the Circuit of the Americas, São Paulo in Brazil and Lusail in Qatar.

Shanghai and Miami remain on the schedule, while Montreal will host its first-ever Sprint, Silverstone returns to the format after several years away, Zandvoort joins the Sprint roster for the first time, and Singapore’s Marina Bay street circuit will also stage a Sprint weekend for the first time.

In 2026, two Grands Prix will be held on Saturday local time. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku is scheduled to take place on Saturday, 26 September, following a request from the local promoter and the government, with the entire event brought forward by one day compared to the usual timetable.

The Las Vegas Grand Prix will also be run as a Saturday race, on 21 November, in keeping with its evening, night-race format.

Canada will also move up the order, shifting from the tenth round on the calendar to the seventh, as part of a strategic reshuffle aimed at improving logistics and travel. The change also sees Monaco now running directly ahead of the Barcelona race at Montmeló, further streamlining the European leg of the season.