The 2027 F1 Calendar Is Here and Fans Are Already Going Crazy: 24 Race Weekends, Returning Tracks and Serious Chaos

The 2027 Formula 1 calendar has arrived.

Yes, I know the 2026 season is still going on, but my mind has already packed its bags for Portugal, entered Istanbul’s Turn 8 at a completely irresponsible speed and started planning another emotional breakdown in Baku.

Honestly, Formula 1 does not release a calendar. It releases a list of future reasons why I will cancel plans, ignore phone calls and spend Sundays shouting at a television.

The 2027 F1 season will again have 24 Grands Prix, beginning in Bahrain from 12 to 14 March and finishing in Abu Dhabi from 10 to 12 December. That is ten months of racing, strategy, penalties, Ferrari confusion, Max aggression and me waiting for luck to finally remember George Russell exists.

Oh, Yes, I am ready.

Well, almost. Bahrain replacing Australia as the opening race feels slightly strange to me. There is something special about beginning a new F1 season in Melbourne, even if it means waking up at an hour when normal human beings are still sleeping. In 2027, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia will begin the season before Australia becomes Round 3, followed immediately by Japan and China.

Three races in three weeks across Australia and Asia. The drivers will be fighting on track while their body clocks quietly resign from employment. But the part that really caught my attention is the return of two proper racing circuits.

Portimão is back.

The Portuguese Grand Prix returns from 18 to 20 June, six years after Formula 1 last raced there in 2021. The 4.6-kilometre Portimão circuit rises, falls and twists through the Algarve like somebody designed a racetrack on a rollercoaster and forgot to press the “flatten surface” button. I loved watching F1 cars move through those elevation changes. At certain points, the drivers cannot even see exactly where the circuit is going because the track suddenly disappears beneath them.

Very safe. Very sensible.

Exactly what we want.

Lewis Hamilton is the only current driver to have won there, taking victory in both 2020 and 2021. It is also the circuit where he claimed his record-breaking 92nd Formula 1 win. But these new-generation cars have never raced at Portimão, and I cannot wait to see what they look like through those blind crests. Max attacking the corners, Kimi carrying ridiculous confidence and George hopefully receiving a strategy that does not require an official investigation from me afterwards. Please, Mercedes. I am asking early this time. Portugal will be followed by Silverstone, Austria, Spa and Hungary before the summer break. That part of the calendar already feels beautiful.

Portimão, Silverstone and Spa within five weeks? My television and I are entering a serious relationship.

Then comes September. Monza starts the second half of the season before Formula 1 returns to Madrid for the second Spanish Grand Prix at MADRING. Hopefully, the circuit finds a little more overtaking before then. The venue looked spectacular in 2026. The atmosphere was brilliant. The racing occasionally behaved like it had somewhere else to be.

Ahem.

But after Madrid comes my favourite part of the entire calendar. Baku.

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix takes place from 24 to 26 September, and one week later Formula 1 travels directly to Istanbul Park for the returning Turkish Grand Prix. Singapore follows immediately after that.

Baku, Türkiye and Singapore on three consecutive weekends. That is not a triple-header. That is an anxiety package. First, the drivers will squeeze between the Castle section walls and fly down Baku’s 2.2-kilometre straight. Then they will attack Istanbul’s famous multi-apex Turn 8. Finally, they will race beneath the lights in Singapore while losing several litres of sweat and possibly the will to live.

For a fan, it sounds incredible. For the teams, mechanics and travelling staff, I would like to offer my thoughts, prayers and strong coffee.

Türkiye returning may be the change I am most excited about. Istanbul Park has been missing since 2021, but it is now confirmed on the calendar until 2031.

The circuit has everything I want from Formula 1: elevation changes, overtaking opportunities and corners that reward bravery. Turn 8 is a long, fast left-hander with several apexes that keeps loading the tyres while the driver tries to convince the car that everything is under control.

It usually is not.

I still remember Lewis Hamilton winning his seventh World Championship there in 2020 on a wet and slippery afternoon. Istanbul gave us chaos, changing grip and cars spinning as if somebody had quietly replaced the track with ice.

Now I want to see Max take on Turn 8 in these cars. That thought alone is enough to make 2027 feel too far away. However, two races have disappeared to make room for Portugal and Türkiye. Barcelona is gone, leaving MADRING as Spain’s only race, while Zandvoort also disappears after its final Dutch Grand Prix in 2026. As a Max fan, losing Zandvoort hurts. The orange crowd made the entire venue feel like a Verstappen festival that happened to include a Formula 1 race. There was smoke, noise and enough orange clothing to make even the Dutch national team feel underdressed.

I understand calendars change, and I genuinely love the two circuits replacing it, but I will miss seeing Max arrive at his home race like an emperor returning to his kingdom.

Now we need to discuss the other massive change. There will be ten Sprint weekends in 2027, increased from six. Bahrain, Australia, Japan, Monaco and Abu Dhabi will hold Sprints for the first time, while Canada, Great Britain, Italy, Brazil and Qatar will host them again.

Ten Sprints means 24 Grands Prix plus another ten short races. More racing sounds exciting, of course, but I am still not completely convinced every race weekend needs extra action forced into it. Sometimes anticipation is part of the fun. Practice allows drivers and teams to understand the car before everything becomes serious.

And a Sprint in Monaco? Overtaking during the main race already requires strategy, bravery and occasionally divine intervention. Perhaps the shorter format will create pressure and mistakes. Two qualifying sessions around those walls will certainly be exciting. But if the Sprint becomes a beautiful line of very expensive cars following each other through Monte Carlo, I reserve the right to say:

I told you so.

Still, looking at this calendar, I cannot pretend I am not excited.

Portimão is back. Istanbul Park is back. Baku remains exactly where it belongs. Silverstone gets a Sprint, Spa survives another year and the season finishes with Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

There are difficult triple-headers and probably too many Sprints, but there are also 24 opportunities for something completely unexpected to happen.

The four-day pre-season test begins in Bahrain on 24 February.

I will tell myself it is only testing. Yes, it is only testing aKi.

Then somebody will set the fastest lap, and I will immediately start calculating championship possibilities. You know how it works. Hehe.

And who knows? Perhaps 2027 will also be the year A2W watches one of these races from closer to the paddock instead of from the sofa.

Let me dream. After all, this entire journey started with fandom too.

The 2027 calendar is here.

My weekends are already booked, my predictions will almost certainly cause me pain, and next March suddenly feels much too far away.

Waiting for Portimão, Turn 8, another Max masterclass and George winning.
aKi Malik