F1’s 2027 calendar brings back Portugal and Turkey, with ten sprint weekends

If your weekends already revolve around lights out, next year’s diary just got busier. Formula 1 has released its 2027 calendar, and the biggest change is how often fans will get an extra race.

The schedule features 24 Grands Prix across 22 countries, with ten sprint events. That is an increase from six in 2026. Portugal and Turkey also return, giving the calendar two familiar stops that have been absent in recent seasons.

Formula 1’s official announcement, issued on September 16 with the FIA after World Motor Sport Council approval, puts the opening weekend in Bahrain on March 12–14. The season is scheduled to finish in Abu Dhabi on December 10–12.

Two returning tracks, plenty of anticipation

Portugal’s race is set for June 20 at Portimão, while Turkey’s is scheduled for October 3 at Istanbul Park, subject to FIA circuit approval. AS notes that both venues hosted races during the pandemic period. Lewis Hamilton won the two recent Portuguese editions and secured his seventh world title in Turkey in 2020.

Those memories give the returning races something a new venue has to build from scratch: an existing place in fans’ conversations. People have favourite moments, favourite corners and, naturally, strong opinions about which circuit deserves a place.

A calendar announcement cannot tell us who will be fast there next year. It does give teams and supporters a much clearer picture of the season they need to prepare for.

Monaco gets an extra race

Bahrain, Australia, Japan, Monaco and Abu Dhabi will stage sprints for the first time. Canada, Britain, Italy at Monza, Brazil and Qatar complete the ten-event list.

Monaco is an especially eye-catching choice. El País highlights that the narrow street circuit will have two qualifying sessions over the weekend. It also points out that sprint events in Qatar and Abu Dhabi could become significant if the championship remains close near the end.

That is a possibility, not a prediction. Nobody can know from a September calendar whether next year’s title fight will go down to the final rounds.

For viewers, the practical change is simple: more weekends with an additional competitive session to follow. For anyone organising a watch party, the main race alone will no longer tell the whole weekend’s story at ten stops.

The schedule is now announced, but the racing still has to happen. A returning favourite can produce a thriller or a quiet afternoon. A sprint can shake up a weekend or leave the order much the same.

What fans have now is the route. Twenty-four Grands Prix, two returning destinations and a larger sprint programme give 2027 plenty to argue about before a single racing lap is completed.