F1 doubles sprint races to 10, restores Portugal and Turkey for 2027 season
Formula One announced a 24-race 2027 calendar with sprint events nearly doubling from 6 to 10, including debuts at Monaco, Bahrain, Australia, Japan, and Abu Dhabi. Portugal returns to the calendar at Portimão on June 20, and Turkey's Istanbul circuit reopens on October 3 after pandemic-era absences.
Formula One will expand its sprint race program to 10 events in 2027, nearly double the current six, according to the sport's calendar announcement on September 16. The 24-race season will open in Bahrain on March 14 and close in Abu Dhabi on December 12.
The sprint expansion marks a significant shift in format. First-time sprint venues include Bahrain, Australia, Japan, Monaco, and Abu Dhabi. The format will return to Montreal, Silverstone, Monza, São Paulo, and Lusail, per the Guardian's reporting.
Two historically important circuits are back on the schedule. Portugal's Portimão circuit will host a race on June 20, returning after hosting F1 during the Covid pandemic in 2021. Turkey's Istanbul circuit will race on October 3, its first regular F1 event since hosting between 2005 and 2011, with a pandemic-era appearance in 2021. Both venues have been approved by the FIA.
The calendar structure includes three triple-headers: Australia, Japan, and China in April; Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Singapore in September-October; and the United States, Mexico, and Brazil in October-November. For the first time since Las Vegas joined the calendar, the Nevada race will not run back-to-back with Qatar and Abu Dhabi, with a one-week gap following the meeting in Nevada.
Barcelona will no longer appear on the regular schedule and will now rotate hosting on alternate years with Belgium's Spa circuit. The Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort held its final F1 race in 2026. All four Middle East races are scheduled in their traditional slots, though F1 has prepared contingency options if those events require cancellation. Imola is expected to host a potential season finale in December should Middle East races not occur.
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said in a statement, per the Guardian: "Formula One continues to go from strength-to-strength, attracting new audiences around the globe." The sport considers sprint events to have been successful and popular with fans. The British Grand Prix at Silverstone will take place on the weekend of July 2-4, 2027.
Geopolitical tension remains a background risk: in April 2026, the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian grands prix were cancelled because of war in the Middle East. Bahrain's race was relocated to Malaysia in October that year.
Sprint races will account for more than 40 percent of the 2027 F1 season, up from six events in 2026.
Sprint races at nearly half the 2027 calendar represent F1's largest format expansion since the format began in 2021. The calendar's resilience depends on whether the October 3 Turkish race clears formal FIA homologation and whether Middle East security holds stable through December.
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