2013 Season: 20 Grand Prix with New Jersey and without Valencia?
Bernie Ecclestone revealed this weekend in Hungary that the calendar for the 2013 Formula 1 season is expected to have 20 races, just like this year.
The FOM boss told several reporters in the paddock at the Hungarian Grand Prix that in 2013, there should be 20 Grand Prix, the same number as in 2012: «There will be 20 races. More or less the same (as this year).»
In 2013, the rotation between Barcelona and Valencia will begin for the organization of the Spanish Grand Prix, which is expected to return to the Circuit de Catalunya for this first year. The European Grand Prix should therefore disappear in favor of organizing a Formula 1 Grand Prix in New Jersey.
Asked whether the Grand Prix would be present despite his various statements about a possible postponement, Ecclestone explained that the race should be part of the 2013 calendar.
Another point of concern for the 2013 season is the situation of the Nürburgring circuit, which is reportedly close to bankruptcy. Bernie Ecclestone has stated that he wishes to keep the German Grand Prix on the calendar and that if the Nürburgring is unable to host F1, the event would move to Hockenheim.
According to several sources, the 2013 season is expected to start on March 17, 2013, in Australia and end in November in Brazil.
Moreover, according to *Auto Motor und Sport*, the winter testing is expected to begin on February 5 in Jerez, Spain, for a four-day session. A second session is scheduled at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona in mid-February, also for four days, and a third and final session, also four days long, is planned for the end of February and the beginning of March, again on the Barcelona track. There should therefore be no in-season testing, as there was this year, with three days at Mugello.
