A view of the 2019 F1 Chinese Gran Prix in Shanghai. /CFP
Formula 1 announced on Wednesday the calendar for the next season, approved by the World Motor Sport Council, featuring a record 24 races which begin in Bahrain on March 2 and finish in Abu Dhabi on December 8.
The Chinese Grand Prix will return after a four-year hiatus, and is scheduled to take place from April 19 to 21 in Shanghai.
China first hosted an F1 Grand Prix in 2004, with next year's race marking the 20th anniversary. The last Chinese Grand Prix in 2019 was the 1,000th race in F1 history, where seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton of Britain won his sixth title of the Chinese leg.
Chinese racer Zhou Guanyu, who is currently with Alfa Romeo, will potentially compete on home soil for the first time as a Shanghai local.
Profile of Zhou Guanyu. /CFP
The opening two Grand Prix of the season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia will take place on Saturdays to accommodate Ramadan.
Meanwhile, other changes on the calendar include moving the Japan GP to April, the Azerbaijan GP to September and putting the Qatar GP back-to-back with the finale in Abu Dhabi.
"We want to make the global spectacle of Formula 1 more efficient in terms of environmental sustainability and more manageable for the travelling staff who dedicate so much of their time to our sport. Stefano Domenicali and his team have done a great job to both bring in new and exciting venues in emerging markets for Formula 1, and stay true to the sport's long and remarkable heritage," said Mohammed Ben Sulayem, president of the International Automobile Federation.
(With input from Xinhua)