On the face of it, Formula 1 recently presented a healthy 19 race dates for the 2010 calendar but many of those venues remain are under a cloud.

Canada and Germany are subject to the signing of contracts, Britain’s two alternative circuits are not guaranteed races, Spa’s racing license has been revoked, and South Korea’s new venue is only half built.

Meanwhile, the latest uncertainty surrounds the May 30 allocation for the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix. Istanbul is therefore due to host a race within days of the Monaco Grand Prix, and the logistical impracticality of that prospect has been discussed this weekend by the Formula One Teams’ Association.

At a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council today though, it was confirmed that the Monaco Grand Prix has been brought forward by a week in order to aid the logistical demands of the teams ahead of the Turkish round of the championship.

In addition, the FIA has approved in principle a proposal to swap the dates of the Abu Dhabi and Brazilian races, pending agreement with the promoters of both events.

Officially, the Turkish Grand Prix, criticized for attracting so small a crowd earlier this year, is due to move to June 6 if the negotiations with Montreal fall through, which would give teams a more feasible time-frame to travel to the venue.  This scenario seems unlikely, as reports have come out that the Canadian Grand Prix will take place in 2010, and the announcement will be made before the final round of the 2009 season.

The Most recent version of the 2010 schedule looks like this:

(1) March 14 – Bahrain (Sakhir)
(2) March 28 – Australia (Melbourne)
(3) April 4 – Malaysia (Sepang)
(4) April 18 – China (Shanghai)
(5) May 9 – Spain (Barcelona)
(6) May 16 – Monaco (Monte Carlo)
(7) May 30 – Turkey (Istanbul)
(8) June 13 – Canada (Montreal)
(9) June 27 – Europe (Valencia)
(10) July 11 – Great Britain (Donington)
(11) July 25 – Germany (Hockenheim)
(12) August 1 – Hungary (Budapest)
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(13) August 29 – Belgium (Spa-Francorchamps)
(14) September 12 – Italy (Monza)
(15) September 26 – Singapore (Singapore)
(16) October 3 – Japan (Suzuka)
(17) October 17 – Korea (Yeongam County)
(18) October 31 – Abu Dhabi (Yas Marina)
(19) November 14 – Brazil (Interlagos)

photo credit ©DPPI

Author: Jeff