2012 F1 Calendar - Turkish Grand Prix left off

The Turkish Grand Prix has been left off the 2012 calendar © Getty Images

Enlarge

The Turkish Grand Prix has been dropped from the 2012 Formula One calendar, which was confirmed by the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) on Wednesday.

The definitive calendar also confirmed that the US Grand Prix has been shifted to the penultimate race of the season in November, while Bahrain, which had been scheduled as the season opener, will now be the fourth round after the initial flyaways in Australia, Malaysia and China.

But the biggest news is undoubtedly the loss of the Turkish Grand Prix, which has struggled to draw crowds since its inaugural race in 2005 and has been in doubt for several months. The race organisers had been in discussions with Bernie Ecclestone to extend the contract, but the WMSC's approval of the latest calendar has ruled it out.

A draft calendar had been leaked earlier this year with the Indian Grand Prix ahead of the European season, but that has now been moved to the end of October (similar to its position on this year's calendar).

There will be six sets of back-to-back races with the season finishing with a double-header in the USA and Brazil.

2012 FIA Formula One calendar

March 18 - Australia
March 25 - Malaysia
April 15 - China
April 22 - Bahrain
May 13 - Spain
May 27 - Monaco
June 10 - Canada
June 24 - Valencia, Europe
July 8 - Great Britain
July 22 - Germany
July 29 - Hungary
September 2 - Belgium
September 9 - Italy
September 23 - Singapore
October 7 - Japan
October 14 - Korea
October 28 - India
November 4 - Abu Dhabi
November 18 - United States
November 25 - Brazil

ESPNF1