Canadian GP to move as F1 takes step closer to regionalised calendar

The Canadian Grand Prix will move to an earlier-than-normal slot from 2026 as part of a plan to help F1 regionalise its race calendar.

F1 announced on Monday that the promoter of the Canadian Grand Prix, Octane Racing Group, along with key stakeholders from the Canadian government and city of Montreal, had agreed to move their race in two years’ time.

The Canadian Grand Prix typically has a June slot which breaks up the European leg of the calendar, but starting in 2026, it will be run on “the third or fourth weekend of May each year”.

F1 says that bringing the Montreal race forward to late May will “allow the European leg of the season to be consolidated into one consecutive period over the European summer months” and will remove “an additonal transatlantic crossing by the Formula 1 community each year”.

This will help boost F1’s efforts to become more sustainable by reducing associated carbon emmisions.

The Canadian Grand Prix would likely take place after the Miami Grand Prix, which has been held in early May since making its F1 debut in 2022, creating a North American pairing. 

F1 has made an effort to create a more regionalised schedule in recent years, moving the Japanese Grand Prix to April to tie in with other races in the Asia-Pacific region - Australia and China.

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix moved to September this year to form a back-to-back with the Singapore Grand Prix, while the Middle Eastern rounds have also been closely aligned at both the start and end of the calendar. 

Monaco will move to the first full weekend in June each year from 2026 and will likely kick-start the European leg of the season.

“I am incredibly grateful to the promoter and all of the government stakeholder partners involved in the Canadian Grand Prix, from the local, to the provincial and national government,” said F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.

“We applaud the tremendous effort from all involved to accelerate the temporary build of the event, to be ready to host the Formula 1 community earlier than in the past.

“The change will make the future flow of our calendar not only more sustainable, but logistically more sensible for our teams and personnel. Our Net Zero by 2030 commitment continues to be a priority for us as a sport and it is thanks to changes like this that we are on track to hitting our goal.”