Abu Dhabi to host F1 finale in 2009
Final race of 2009 F1 calendar to be staged in Abu Dhabi
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Thursday, 26, Jun 2008 03:44
The second Middle Eastern grand prix on the formula one calendar in Abu Dhabi will stage the final round of next year's drivers' championship, it has emerged.
The sport's governing body, the FIA, has released the provisional calendar for the 2009 season, which is to be expanded to 19 races.
And the new street circuit in Abu Dhabi, which will join Bahrain on the schedule, is down to host the season finale on November 15th.
The British grand prix is moved from its traditional July slot to one month earlier in June, to be staged on the 21st, with the entire season shuffling forward two weeks until the end of March.
The season-opening Australian race will now take place on March 29th - the 2008 grand prix was on March 16th - but there will now be four back-to-back race weekends instead of three: Australia to Malaysia; Great Britain to France; Italy to Belgium; and Japan to China.
The Turkish grand prix has moved from its May slot in 2008 to the August slot it has occupied in previous seasons.
And despite suggestions earlier this year that the FIA were considering axing the French grand prix, it remains on the calendar with the US grand prix - dropped after the 2007 season - remaining absent.
Provisional 2009 formula one calendar:
March 29th - Australia
April 5th - Malaysia
April 19th - Bahrain
May 10th - Spain
May 24th - Monaco
June 7th - Canada
June 21st - Great Britain
June 28th - France
July 12th - Germany
July 26th - Hungary
August 9th - Turkey
August 23rd - Europe (Valencia)
September 6th - Italy
September 13th - Belgium
September 27th - Singapore
October 11th - Japan
October 18th - China
November 1st- Brazil
November 15th - Abu Dhabi