Five big takeaways from F1's eye-catching 2027 calendar reveal

The 2027 F1 calendar is finally here.

Announced by the championship on Wednesday morning, it features 24 grands prix, beginning on March 14th in Bahrain and concluding in Abu Dhabi on December 12th. 

You can check out the full calendar by clicking this link. 

Below, RacingNews365 takes a look at five of the most eye-catching aspects to the new schedule. 

1. A Sprint race in Monaco

Perhaps the most eye-catching detail in the calendar announcement was the fact that, for the first time, a Sprint will be held at the Monaco Grand Prix. 

On the surface, this appears to be a strange decision given the lack of overtaking in the Principality over the years and calls to shake-up the format, including the doomed mandatory two-stop rule for the 2025 race.

Qualifying is often deemed the highlight of the Monaco weekend, and so F1 will be doubling up on the action that is one of the great spectacles in motorsport. 

It means practice will be shaved from three hours to just one before Sprint Qualifying, perhaps throwing extra jeopardy into the weekend. 

2. The number of Sprints

Including Monaco, there will be a total of 10 Sprints on the 2027 calendar, a rise of four from 2026, which featured six. 

It is a climb of seven from the format's first season in 2021, which offer a total of 80 championship points, over three grands prix worth. 

A total of six of the 10 will be in the first half of the season before the summer break, in Bahrain, Australia, Japan, Canada, Monaco, and Great Britain.

The remaining four will be in Italy, Brazil, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi. It means that for the first time, the season-finale will be a Sprint weekend, with three of the final four featuring the format, at a time when the championships will be decided. 

F1 has made clear that viewing figures and interactions of the Sprints have been steadily increasing, so the format is firmly here to stay and could yet expand further in the future. 

3. The start could yet change

The season-opener is currently pencilled in for Bahrain on March 14th, with Saudi Arabia following a week later in a double-header. 

However, given the uncertainty in the Middle East regarding the ongoing Iran War, a question mark must be placed over these two grands prix opening the 2027 season. 

Should the need arise for the races to be moved backwards, Australia will not fill in as the season-opener, with it being understood that a start at the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai is being considered with the Japanese GP also moving forward, in a possible direct swap with Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. 

F1 boss Stefano Domenicali has previously stated that a decision on whether the 2027 season can begin in the Middle East must be taken by the end of the 2026 calendar year at the latest, owing to logistics. 

4. Bi-annual rotation begins

F1 has previously had rotation between grands prix, most famously the German GP between Hockenheim and the Nurburgring between 2008 and 2014, before Hockenheim continued in even-numbered years until '18, with a one-off event in '19.

But it has become a rarity in recent years, but given the boom in countries interested in hosting, bi-annual rotation has become the solution to too many races and not enough slots on the calendar.

For 2027, this begins with the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix dropping off as it begins its even-numbered run, with the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa featuring in odd-numbered years until 2031.

Elsewhere, the Dutch GP has fallen off the calendar after its contract expired, with the Portuguese and Turkish GPs returning, having both last featured in the 2021 season as COVID replacements for the long-haul flyaways. 

5. No clashes with Le Mans or Indianapolis 500

In 2026, the start of the Canadian Grand Prix overlapped directly with the thrilling photo-finish of the Indianapolis 500, whilst the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix was a clash with the end of the Le Mans 24 Hours. 

Fortunately, for 2027, no clash between either of the races happens with an F1 race.

The Canadian GP takes place on May 23rd, before Indianapolis on May 30th. 

Monaco follows on June 6th before Le Mans on June 13th. 

It means the likes of Lando Norris, who has recently tested McLaren's Hypercar, Max Verstappen, and two-time Le Mans winner Fernando Alonso, could, hypothetically, compete at the twice-around-the-clock French test of endurance.