The International Automobile Federation’s AGM has announced that three Grands Prix have been removed from the provisional Formula 1 calendar for 2014.
Races in South Korea, Mexico and New Jersey had been contemplated in a inflated 22-race program for next season, but the FIA has decided to keep the current program of 19 races.
With a new fixture on the calendar for the Russian Grand Prix at Sochi next year, the Korean race at Yeongam has had to make way. It also means no prospective new race in Mexico, or a return to New Jersey. The Indian Grand Prix has also had to make way for the Austrian race at the Red Bull Ring.
To make things interesting Formula 1 has announced this week that it is to award double points for the last race of the 2014 season in a controversial attempt
to keep the championship undecided to the very last race after four years of Red Bull domination.
The FIA said double points would “maximise focus on the championship until the end of the campaign” and had been unanimously approved at the Paris meeting by teams in the F1 Strategy Group and Formula 1 Commission.
Sebastien Vettel won the last nine races and took his fourth title in a row with three rounds to spare this year, but he would not have been champion in 2012 had double points been awarded for the last race.
The only other change from the 2013 calendar sees the German F1 GP move from the Nurburgring to Hockenheim. The first race of the season begins on March 16 from Melbourne Australia and will conclude in Abu Dhabi on November 23 which will now carry double points.