New circuit highlights changes to the 2026 Formula 1 schedule

Photo Credit: FIA

Not even 10 races into the 2025 Formula 1 season, and we already have the 2026 race schedule in our hands. Once again, the Formula 1 season will last 24 races, but this time with a new circuit and a different weekend for the most historic Grand Prix in the sport.

The schedule was released on Tuesday, June 10, after receiving approval from the International Automobile Federation, F1’s governing body, at the World Motor Sport Council meeting.

2026 is set to be a transcendent year for F1, with new regulations and new teams. Cars will use new power units that will make them lighter and more agile on track. Changes in aerodynamics to the front and rear wings and an improved overtaking system will also be implemented next season. Cadillac joins as the 11th team on the grid. This is the first time since 2016 that there will be more than 20 cars on the F1 grid. While not a new team per se, Kick Sauber is rebranding to Audi in 2026, a highly anticipated switch.

There are a few notable changes to next year’s calendar, with the two biggest being the addition of a race in Madrid and the rescheduling of the Monaco Grand Prix.

The Madrid Grand Prix is on the 2026 F1 schedule, marking the first time Madrid has hosted a F1 Grand Prix since 1981. The Madrid Grand Prix will take place in September (9/11-9/13). This will be the second race in Spain, with the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona happening from June 12 to June 14. The track in Madrid will be a combination of street and non-street racing. Construction is underway for the track to be ready by September 2026.

With two Spanish drivers on the grid, the Madrid Grand Prix will serve as a home race for Williams’ Carlos Sainz and another home race for Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso. Sainz, a native of Madrid, has been a big proponent for adding this Grand Prix to the calendar. Alonso is from Oviedo, Spain, which is closer to Madrid than Barcelona, but the latter has served as his home race since he entered the sport in 2001.

As a result of a new track being added, one had to be subtracted to keep the schedule at 24 races per season. With its contract expiring in May, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola was removed. Since being added as a full-time track on the F1 calendar in 2020, the Imola Grand Prix has been held five out of a possible six times. The Grand Prix was canceled in 2023 due to flooding. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen dominated at Imola, winning four of the five races, including this year’s.

Another big shift for the 2026 F1 season is the rescheduling of the Monaco Grand Prix, the second-longest running F1 Grand Prix (71 times). The circuit in Monaco has received a lot of backlash after new regulations for this year’s race didn’t improve the lack of overtaking - there was only one legal overtake in the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix. While this change won’t help what happens on the track, it will bring more attention to this historic race.

The Monaco Grand Prix will move from late May to early June. This season’s race weekend occurred between May 23 and May 25, while the 2026 installment will be held from June 5 to June 7. This is due to the overlap of the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500. The Indy 500 is IndyCar’s most prestigious race, and along with the Monaco Grand Prix and 24 Hours of Le Mans, is part of the Triple Crown of Motorsport. This should bring more viewers to the Monaco Grand Prix. It will help McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown, who is also in charge of the Arrow McLaren IndyCar team. Brown was in attendance to see one of his drivers, Lando Norris, win in Monaco this year, but he has missed the race in years past to attend the Indy 500.

In 2026, the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal will be moved to the same weekend as the Indy 500. The Canadian Grand Prix will be the last of two races in May, with the first being the Miami Grand Prix from June 1 to June 3. The Canadian Grand Prix will be held from May 22 to May 24, allowing teams to keep cars, equipment, and more in North America during the three-week break. Between this year’s Miami Grand Prix and Canadian Grand Prix, there were races in Italy, Monaco, and Spain.

Three more races will be held in North America. The U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, and the Mexico Grand Prix in Mexico City will take place on back-to-back weekends (October 23-25 and October 30-November 1), while the Las Vegas Grand Prix will be the third-to-last race of the season from November 19 to November 21.

The Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort will hold special meaning next season. In December 2024, it was announced that the track extended its contract with F1 for one more season, but would depart the calendar following the end of the 2026 season. Zandvoort has been on the F1 schedule since 2021 after a 35-year hiatus. The track originally hosted non-championship and World Championship F1 races from 1950-1985. The historic track is home to four-time World Drivers’ Champion Max Verstappen. It is unclear what will replace Zandvoort on the 2027 calendar, but it means there will be another F1 hiatus in the Netherlands.

The season will last 10 months, beginning with the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne from March 6 to March 8, and culminating with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina from December 4 to December 6. This is the second consecutive season the Australian Grand Prix has been the opening race of the year. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is traditionally the season-ending race, serving that role since 2014.

Click the link to check out the full 2026 F1 calendar.