Formula 1 will return to Spa-Francorchamps in 2023 after agreeing on a one-year contract extension with the Belgian Grand Prix.
With the expiration of the current contract with Belgium and the entry of several new races, Spa was one of several traditional venues that risked being excluded from the 2023 calendar, designed to host only eight European races.
But uncertainty about Formula 1’s return to South Africa and China has changed the picture in recent weeks, making promoter Spa Grand Prix hopeful of reaching an agreement with F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali and his team.
Over the weekend of what could have been the last F1 race in Spa for the foreseeable future, both sides have found a new one-year contract extension that will keep the popular circuit on the calendar in 2023.
The date has not been announced, but with Spa being a late addition to the 2023 calendar after being absent from previous drafts, it will likely give up its traditional late summer spot and could now host the Belgian Grand Prix in July.
“Formula 1 can confirm that the Belgian Grand Prix will be part of the 2023 calendar following an agreement to extend our partnership. Further details on the 2023 calendar will be announced in due course,” read the F1 statement.
Spa’s offer to get the contract renewed included an effort by the organizers to overhaul the circuit’s obsolete structures and improve traffic management, which has historically been lacking. At the request of F1, the Spa Grand Prix also worked to improve off-track entertainment.
Despite the one-year lull, however, Belgium’s long-term future remains unsolved and the intense discussions of recent months are set to repeat next year.
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali told Sky Sports F1: “We have to congratulate the organizers for the work done. You have seen the investment they have made.”
“You see the number of people who come here. There is an incredible crowd, an incredible attention to the people, and that I think is good for the sport.”
“We have always said that the race is part of our tradition and has a very important place in our calendar, and this is a fact that we wanted to share right now”.
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W13
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
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