Formula 1 in Suzuka till 2018

Formula 1 will remain at Suzuka until at least 2018 after track bosses signed a new contract with Bernie Ecclestone.

Suzuka president Hiroshi Soda met with Ecclestone in London this week to agree the terms of a new five-year deal which starts next season.

Although the Japanese GP gets no government investment, Soda said that the terms of the new contract were such that the race made financial sense for the track. F1 supremo Ecclestone added: "It is great to see Honda back in F1 in 2015. I am sure that the Japanese Grand Prix will attract greater attention than ever."

2013 SHELL Belgian Formula One Grand Prix

It has been a month break for the teams and fans as they went into a summer break and now they are back and racing again at Spa-Franchorchamps. The forecast for Saturday is suppose to be that rain will fall near or on qualifying, as it may or may not reshuffle up the grid. But come Sunday there will also be rain on the horizon as it is expected to fall around race start or even during the race. 
Qualifying: ONE - 19.30pm to 21.15pm LIVE
                  TEN -  01.00 to 03.00 REPLAY
Race: ONE - 19.45pm to 22.00 LIVE
             TEN - 0.00 to 02.20 REPLAY 

Hungary extended to 2021

The Hungaroring’s contract to host Formula One has been extended today, with the deal securing the future of the Hungarian Grand Prix until 2021.

The circuit first played host to the race back in 1986 as part of Bernie Ecclestone’s desire to take Formula One into eastern Europe. The event has certainly achieved this and paved the way for the inaugural Russian Grand Prix in 2014, but the race in Hungary is a firm favorite among the drivers and fans as the Hungaroring is one of the few ‘old’ circuits left on the calendar.

Despite there not being a Hungarian driver currently in the sport, it is seen as a “home” race for the Finnish drivers on the grid as legions of Finns make the journey south to cheer on Kimi Raikkonen and Valtteri Bottas. Speaking to Sky Sports before the race, Bernie Ecclestone confirmed that the deal had been signed.“It’s an extension of our current deal taking us up to ’21,” the Formula One supremo said.

Indian Grand Prix may be dropped for 2014

The Indian Grand Prix is unlikely to be included in the 2014 Formula 1 calendar, according to Bernie Ecclestone.

The event made its debut in 2011, but teams have been constantly concerned about taxation issues when entering the country.

India's government has not granted a custom exemption to the teams as it does not consider F1 to be a sport.

"Is India going to happen next year? Probably not," Ecclestone told Reuters in Hungary. "[It's] very political." Russia and Austria will be joining what is set to be a 20-race calendar next year. India will host its third Grand Prix in October. Organisers have denies "baseless and malicious" rumours about the event being in doubt.

Red Bull must clear hurdles for Austria GP return

Red Bull needs to clear some hurdles before the Austrian Grand Prix can go ahead in 2014. The energy drink company and Bernie Ecclestone announced on Tuesday that an agreement to stage a race mid next year at the former A1-Ring, now called the Red Bull Ring, has been reached.

APA news agency said the “provisional” deal is for at least seven consecutive Austrian grands prix. But Red Bull’s statement on Tuesday admitted the deal is “on condition of approval by the required authorities”. One necessary approval, it has emerged, is the extension of the circuit’s allowed spectator attendance for an event from just 40,000 people on two consecutive days.Reports also refer to limitations of the allowed decibel noise levels at the track, and backdated permission for the formation of a spectator bank.

“The conditions (for a F1 race) will certainly not be easy to fulfil,” said local ombudsman Karl Arbesser, according to the German-language Speed Week.“I do not know if they (Red Bull) will have an operating license for 2014.” Another local administrator, Harald Schnedl, told APA that Red Bull will have to submit a full “noise, emissions and traffic engineering concept” prior to approval. And Kleine Zeitung newspaper said the Red Bull Ring will have to improve the current media centre, which is currently “too small” for Formula One. Meanwhile, Mateschitz admitted the race will cost him money.“With the gate (ticket) receipts I will cover the organisational costs, but not the license fee.“But Red Bull Racing won both of the world championships in the past three years, which was certainly an advantage to getting the race,” he added.

2014 Formula 1 season schedule could be 22 races

It’s possible that Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone will ask the FIA to ratify a huge 22 race Formula 1 calendar for the 2014 season.

That is the claim of a Brazilian media report, after Formula 1 chief executive Ecclestone provisionally approved Austria’s return to the sport for next year. With Russia and New Jersey also set to join the 2014 calendar, next year’s schedule could blow out from 19 races at present to an unprecedented 22.

The FIA is expected to release a draft calendar for the 2014 season in the coming weeks.

21 Races of the 2014 FIA Formula One World Championship

Bahrain is likely to host the first Formula One race next year as early as March 2. "Bahrain’s Crown Prince was in Montreal on the weekend ahead of that city’s race. The Bahrain event has been controversial since civil unrest broke out in 2011.The event was cancelled that year but has gone ahead in 2012 and 2013 despite protests from international human rights groups who claim the kingdom is responsible for a violent suppression of democracy fighters.

The year 2014 is set to be the longest racing calendar in the event’s history, with a record 21 GP if New Jersey and Russia win their bids to host a race and none of the other scheduled races drop off. The season opener would be brought forward to March 2. Abu Dhabi is the second Middle East F1 host. Its race usually is one of the last, held in early November. 

However, Whitmarsh said he was not confident that 21 races could be accommodated.“I don’t know whether there really will be 21 races,” he said.“I've heard the stories of a variety of new venues, from Russia and talk of New Jersey again and those sorts of things. Whether all the other dates on the calendar survive I don’t know but 21 races is a lot that is for sure.“This year we have 19, we did 20 last year. I know it’s only one more but we have been saying that since we were at about 14 races and most of those were in Europe. It gets quite tough for the teams.” 

The schedule will be confirmed by the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council, which is due to meet on June 28.