FIA Formula 2 and Formula 3 announce provisional calendars for 2021 season

Formula One’s support series, the FIA Formula 2 and the FIA Formula 3 Championships have released their provisional calendar for the 2021 series, with the two series set to race at different Grands Prix weekends from next year onwards.

The sport’s two support series has recently announced the introduction of a package of cost-cutting measures. As part of this package, the costs of the engine lease and of some spare parts will decrease significantly from 2021. In addition to this, the costs related to logistics and freight will also be cut for both F2 and F3.

Moreover, the promoters have decided that the same car will be used for the next three-year cycle of F2 which will start in 2021. The 2019 Formula 3 car’s specs will be unchanged for 2021 and is likely to remain the same for the following seasons, with the next three-year cycle starting in 2022.

The schedule of Formula 2 and Formula 3 will also undergo a significant change with both set to race as fewer venues. However, it will not result in a drop of the number of races as both series will have three races per event. Furthermore, the two series will no longer be present on the same weekend despite remaining tied with Formula One.

Commenting on the announcement, FIA Formula 2 and Formula 3 CEO Bruno Michel said: “As part of our cost control measures for 20201 which we detailed last week, we have decided to limit the number of rounds per season in order to reduce our teams’ budget.

“Thanks to F1 and the FIA’s support, we will now have three races per event which means that we may have gone from nine to seven rounds, but we have effectively increased the number of races overall from eighteen to twenty-one. This will automatically increase the mileage over one season which is something that needed to be addressed as well.

“I’m quite interested to see the F3 cars run at Zandvoort and Austin. These are two exciting new venues for us. We will also go back to Le Castellet where we saw great racing in previous years. F3 may no longer be racing on the same weekends as F2, I am pleased to confirm that all F3 events will take place alongside Formula 1.“

“The 2021 F2 provisional calendar is a mixture of European and overseas circuits, with venues that have always been very popular amongst the drivers and the fans alike. The addition of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia makes it all the more exciting. I’m also pleased to confirm that once again all F2 events will run alongside Formula 1.”

The 2021 FIA Formula 2 Championship is set to begin at Sakhir 28 that will play host to Round 2 of next year’s Formula One season. The series will then enjoy a two-month break before the action resumes at Monte Carlo at the end of May. Baku will play host to Round 3 of the season, followed by the race meeting at Silverstone at the end of July.

Following the race-less month of August, the field will battle it out at Monza and Sochi in September, followed by the Jeddah round that is set to become the only new venue on the F2 schedule. The season will then come to an end at Yas Marina on December 5.

The 2021 FIA Formula 3 Championship is set to get underway at Barcelona on May 9. The following two months will see the field race at Le Castellet and Spielberg while August looks to be the most intense month with two events – Budapest and Spa-Francorchamps. Zandvoort will be the first of two new venues for the series while the second new addition will be Austin that will conclude the season on October 24.