Belgian Grand Prix to be Dropped From F1 Schedule in 2028 and 2030

The Belgian Grand Prix will stay on the Formula 1 calendar for four of the next six seasons after a contract extension was agreed that will see the circuit in Spa dropped in 2028 and 2030, allowing either older circuits that have not hosted races or new markets to be added to the worldwide calendar.

The extension starting from next year includes races only in 2026, 2027, 2029 and 2031. The Spa-Francorchamps circuit was on the F1 schedule for the first championship season in 1950 and has been on the calendar every year since 2007.

“The Belgian Grand Prix was one of the races that made up our maiden Championship in 1950, so as we kick off our 75th anniversary year it is fitting that we can share the news of this important extension,” F1 President and Chief Executive Stefano Domenicali said in a statement. “Spa-Francorchamps is rightly lauded by drivers and fans alike as one of the finest racetracks in the world and it has played host to some incredible moments over its many seasons in Formula 1.”

Wednesday’s announcement is the latest in a series of future track agreements and schedule shifts by F1.

The Chinese Grand Prix will stay on the Formula 1 calendar until at least 2030 in a contract extension at the Shanghai International Circuit, which hosts the second round of the 2025 season on March 23. Formula 1 will race at the beachside track at Zandvoort in the Netherlands for two more years before the Dutch Grand Prix falls off the series calendar after 2026. The Italian Grand Prix will remain on the calendar until 2031 as part of a six-year extension to the existing agreement at Monza, which has hosted a grand prix since the inaugural world championship in 1950.

The Canadian Grand Prix will move to the third or fourth weekend of May each year starting in 2026 to have a more cohesive travel schedule for teams while the Monaco Grand Prix will stay on the schedule at least through 2031 as the grand prix will be contested on the first full weekend in June. The move will allow the European leg of the F1 season to be consolidated into one consecutive period over Europe’s summer months and is planned to remove an additional transatlantic crossing each year.

F1’s push in recent years to expand the schedule with more races in the United States and Asia has meant more competition for traditional venues in Europe. F1 hosts two races a year in Italy at Monza and Imola but the long-term future for Imola is unclear. The deal for Spain’s Circuit de Catalunya expires next year, when a new street race arrives in Madrid. F1 hasn’t raced in Germany since 2020 but has a history of rotating between two circuits there. The last race in Turkey was in 2021 and the most recent French GP was in 2022.