Aditya ChaudhuriThe schedule of the inaugural season of the F1 Academy has been revealed. The season will have seven rounds with a total of 21 races, with the season getting underway on April 28 and concluding on October 22, 2023.
The season will kick off with the Austrian Grand Prix and will end with the United States Grand Prix. The teams will also have their testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain on April 11 and 12, 2023. The season will also have 13 additional days of testing, the dates of which will be announced soon.
The calendar for the inaugural season of the F1 Academy is as follows:
| Round | Date | Venue |
| 1 | 28–29 April | Spielberg, Austria |
| 2 | 05–07 May | Valencia, Spain |
| 3 | 19–21 May | Barcelona, Spain |
| 4 | 23–25 June | Zandvoort, Netherlands |
| 5 | 07–09 July | Monza, Italy |
| 6 | 29–30 July | Le Castellet, France |
| 7 | 20–22 October | Austin, USA |
Format
The race-weekend format has also been revealed, which will have:
- Two Free Practice sessions of 40 minutes each.
- Two Qualifying sessions of 15 minutes each. Qualifying 1 will finalise the Grid for Race 1, while Qualifying 2 will set the grid for Race 3. The top-eight finishers in Qualifying 1 will start Race 2 in reverse order, while the cars from ninth onwards will start in the same position they finish.
- Each event will have three races: Race 1 and Race 3 will be 30 minutes long, while Race 2 will be 20 minutes long.
Points
The points distribution for the events will be as follows:
| Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | |||
| Position | Points | Position | Points | Position | Points |
| 1st | 25 | 1st | 10 | 1st | 25 |
| 2nd | 18 | 2nd | 8 | 2nd | 18 |
| 3rd | 15 | 3rd | 6 | 3rd | 15 |
| 4th | 12 | 4th | 5 | 4th | 12 |
| 5th | 10 | 5th | 4 | 5th | 10 |
| 6th | 8 | 6th | 3 | 6th | 8 |
| 7th | 6 | 7th | 2 | 7th | 6 |
| 8th | 4 | 8th | 1 | 8th | 4 |
| 9th | 2 | 9th | 2 | ||
| 10th | 1 | 10th | 1 |
Those who take pole positions in Race 1 and Race 3 will take two additional points, while the driver who takes home the fastest lap will get one additional point given that she finishes in the top 10.
Bruno Michel, General Manager of the F1 Academy, commented:
“I’m very pleased to reveal the calendar of F1 Academy’s inaugural season. Our goal was to be able to race on as many Formula 1 Grand Prix tracks as possible, with circuits that could be a great challenge for the drivers. The teams know these layouts very well, so they will be able to help their young talents get to grips quickly. We had announced that F1 Academy would be racing alongside Formula 1 at one event, so it’s fantastic to be part of the F1 Grand Prix package in Austin, where we will also conclude the first season, in front of the F1 paddock and the American crowd. There is quite a gap in between Rounds 6 and 7, but that is mainly due to the fact that we will be sending the cars and equipment by ship, to save on logistical costs.
“Additionally, there will be fifteen days of testing to add to the track time in 2023, with the first two days in Barcelona on April 11th and 12th. We will reveal the rest of the dates in due time.“
