F1
Formula 1, WEC, Formula E… The delicate cohabitation of the 2023 calendars
Spa-Francorchamps was at the heart of the debates between F1 and GT World in particular © Paul Vaicle / DPPI
It’s a perpetual puzzle that has taken on an unprecedented scale this season. Putting together 2023 calendars has never been so complex. All competitions were subject to several constraints, linked in particular to the premier category of motorsport: the Formula 1. Next year, the F1 Circus will visit 24 circuits, a record. By occupying 24 weekends between March and November, the other championships tried to adapt to avoid date confrontations. After the revelation of Formula 1 calendars, in WEC, in Formula E et in IMSA, if some problems have been resolved, others are still on the table…
Formula 1 disrupts GT…
The pinnacle of motorsport, Formula 1 has pulled out all the stops for next season, by “imposing” certain constraints on the endurance categories in particular. Dialogues between the FIA, F1 and the ACO resulted in thea safeguarding of the date of the 24 Hours of Le Mans (June 10-11). There will therefore be no Grands Prix on the same weekend as the Le Mans double round of the clock. On the other hand, there will be a confrontation of dates for the tests of WEC at Portimão (F1: Chinese Grand Prix, April 16) Monza (F1: British Grand Prix, July 9) and Spa-Francorchamps (F1: Azerbaijan Grand Prix, April 30).
Concerning Spa-Francorchamps precisely, it is with regard to the Walloon circuit that the frustrations were highlighted. In GT, the Spa 24 Hours event (initially scheduled for the weekend of July 29-30) had to move its date at the last minute… because of the F1 calendar. Renewed for the 2023 season, the Belgian Grand Prix has been brought forward by one month compared to previous seasons to also be set for July 30. SRO Motorsports Group, organizer of GT World, was therefore forced to modify its historical date to bring it forward to the beginning of July.
By domino effect, the new date of the 24 Hours of Spa was not the only change in the calendars of the various championships organized by Stéphane Ratel's organization. Scheduled for Monza, the opening round of GT World Challenge Europe will take place a week later than initially announced (April 21-23). The Brands Hatch meeting has been postponed by two weeks (May 13-14). These two events were moved so as not to coincide with FIA WEC weekends, with many drivers competing in both championships.
WEC – IMSA – ELMS: (in)evitable confrontations?
As for the endurance championships, there were numerous negotiations and modifications... but they did not make it possible to avoid all the date clashes. Despite the new convergence so dear to the organizers, the WEC and theIMSA failed to agree on all the dates to prevent confrontations in their calendars. In 2023, there will be, twice, the two championships simultaneously on the same weekend: April 16 (WEC in Portimão, IMSA in Long Beach) and July 9 (WEC in Monza, IMSA at CTMP Bowmanville). Several pilots expressed their dissatisfaction, like Felipe Albuquerque who preferred to be ironic on Twitter. “It’s so disappointing. I can't get enough of the 16 races of Formula E and zero Clash.
Maybe it's luck. »
Frédéric Lequien, general director of LMEM (Le Mans Endurance Management), explained that the FIA and the ACO have “do their best” to avoid any date confrontation. “At the moment we are experiencing a very strange situation with the expansion of the Formula 1 calendar. Many circuits that we like to go to or that we use have to change their calendar because of this and we have to adapt too. Then we must try to avoid conflicts with our friends at IMSA, but also with others, such as Formula E and SRO. Please don't think we didn't try, we did. (…) We must be realistic. Formula 1 is Formula 1. And of course we want to continue the discussion with them. This is what we did, and I would like to thank them for avoiding the big clash with the 24 Hours of Le Mans. But for the rest of the season, it is almost impossible to avoid clashes. »
Beyond the two main competitions, IMSA and WEC, the European Le Mans Series has also had to adapt. The European series has recently experienced a little upheaval. Initially scheduled for October 13 to 15, the 4 Hours of Portimão have been postponed by one week, from October 20 to 22. This change of program aims to avoid the clash of dates with Petit Le Mans in IMSA (October 11-14, 2023). The organizers of the European Le Mans Series have thus found a solution to resolve this calendar conflict. The calendars of the support races such as the Ligier European Series and the Michelin Le Mans Cup have also been adjusted accordingly. One less problem, already, in the list of confrontations for 2023.
With Valentin Glo
The main date clashes in 2023:
29 janvier : Formula E (Saudi Arabia) – IMSA (24 Hours of Daytona)
19 March: F1 (Saudi Arabia) – WEC / IMSA (Sebring)
16th April : F1 (China) – WEC (Portimão) – IMSA (Long Beach)
May 28 : F1 (Monaco) – IndyCar (Indianapolis 500 Miles)
July 9 : F1 (Great Britain) – WEC (Monza) – IMSA (CTMP Bowmanville)
5th November : F1 (Brazil) – WEC (Bahrain)
ALSO READ > Official: the WEC 2023 calendar with Portimão
Dorian Grangier
A young journalist nostalgic for the motorsport of yesteryear. Raised on the exploits of Sébastien Loeb and Fernando Alonso.
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DANIEL MEYERS
06/10/2022 at 06:11 a.m.
Oops, it's not the 6 hours of Monza, but the 6 hours of Fuji on September 10.
DANIEL MEYERS
06/10/2022 at 06:07 a.m.
The article is a bit hasty, there is one more clash in the WEC, the 6 hours of Spa and the Azerbaijan GP on the weekend of April 29/30. Which is still much better than last year when ALL WEC races were in competition with a GP, this year in addition to Le Mans there are the 6 hours of Monza which are not. As for Monaco and the 500 miles, it's been like this for years, and it's not really a clash since not the same drivers are involved and not at the same time!