FIA approves Formula 1 2019 calendar and new rules
Formula 1’s 2019 calendar, as well as a host of technical and sporting changes to the rules, were formally approved by the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council on Friday.
Following a meeting in Paris, the 21-round schedule for 2019 was unchanged from the provisional schedule that had been released by F1's owners Liberty Media back in August.
The season will start in Australia on March 17, and finish with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 1.
2019 F1 calendar:
| Date | Grand Prix | Venue |
| 17th March | Australia | Melbourne |
| 31st March | Bahrain | Sakhir |
| 14th April | China | Shanghai |
| 28th April | Azerbaijan | Baku |
| 12th May | Spain | Barcelona |
| 26th May | Monaco | Monaco |
| 9th June | Canada | Montreal |
| 23rd June | France | Paul Ricard |
| 30th June | Austria | Red Bull Ring |
| 14th July | Great Britain | Silverstone |
| 28th July | Germany | Hockenheim |
| 4th August | Hungary | Hungaroring |
| 1st September | Belgium | Spa |
| 8th September | Italy | Monza |
| 22nd September | Singapore | Singapore |
| 29th September | Russia | Sochi |
| 13th October | Japan | Suzuka |
| 27th October | Mexico | Mexico City |
| 3rd November | USA | Austin |
| 17th November | Brazil | Interlagos |
| 1st December | Abu Dhabi | Yas Marina |
NEW RULES
As well as the new calendar, the WMSC approved a raft of changes to the F1 rules for 2019 – as exclusively revealed previously by Motorsport.com.
Following approval by F1's Strategy Group and the F1 Commission, the new rules include:
- a new position for the rear view mirrors and rear wing to help with rearward visibility
- the location of on board cameras will also be changed to get a clearer view over the halo
- rear endplate lights will be added to the rear wing
- minor modifications will be made to the halo fairing to help with driver extraction
Other rule changes are:
- Drivers will now only be allowed to overtake after a safety car period once they have crossed the start-finish line. Previously they had been allowed to do so at a safety car line
- Teams will now be responsible for initial scrutineering of their cars and must declare that their cars comply with all safety related matters
- A chequered light panel will be used at the end of the race alongside the traditional flag
- For 2020, the team personnel curfew will increase from eight to nine hours
