Formula 1 has announced that the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship will kick off at the Bahrain International Circuit.
The Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2022 weekend is therefore expected to take place on March 18-20, making it the first of 23 rounds in the new season.
BIC Chief Executive Sheikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa was quoted by an official statement as saying: “The 2022 F1 season will mark a new era for the sport, with new regulations substantially changing major elements of the cars.”
The announcement reportedly follows the latest meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Paris, which approved the new calendar.
It will be the fourth time that the Formula 1 season will start in Bahrain.
The championship-opener was previously held at “The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East” in 2006, 2010 and in 2021, said the statement.
The Bahrain Grand Prix is expected to be the front-end of a Formula 1 Middle Eastern double-header to start the new season, as it will be followed the very next weekend by the second edition of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah.
Next year’s Bahrain Grand Prix will mark the 18th edition of the 57-lap race, and the ninth time it will be held at night under BIC’s floodlights.
Further announcements on the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2022 — including details on ticket sales — are expected to be made in due course.