All you Formula One fans, fasten your seat belts, put on your helmets, and get set for an extended season of racing excitement.
There will be as many as 18 Formula One races in 2004, as against 16 this year, the first time that the event will see more than 17 races in a single season since its inception in 1950.
This decision was announced by the FIA, the governing body of the game, after Wednesday's meeting of the World Motor Sport Council in Paris.
Asia has two more races besides the Malaysian and the Japanese Grand Prix, with China and Bahrain being included in the calendar.
The Canadian Grand Prix has also been included provisionally and set for June 13, subject to an agreement with the teams on the absence of tobacco sponsorship. All forms of tobacco advertisements are banned in Canada.
To accommodate the Canadian race, the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola has been moved to April 25 from its proposed June slot, thus once again opening the European season.
The United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis, which was the penultimate race this season, will switch to June 20, forming a North American double-header with the Canadian Grand Prix.
The European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring will switch from April 25 to May 30, just a week after the race in Monaco.
The Belgian Grand Prix returns to the calendar after a gap of one year.
Spa will host the race on August 29, ahead of the final European round at Monza in Italy.The Austrian Grand Prix has, however, been axed.
The season culminates with three fly-away races, the first of which will be the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai on September 26.
The season will end with the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo.
Following is the complete F1 calendar for 2004:
| Date | Race | Venue |
| Mar 7 | Australian GP | Melbourne |
| Mar 21 | Malaysian GP | Kuala Lumpur |
| Apr 4 | Bahrainian GP | Bahrain |
| Apr 25 | San Marino GP | Imola |
| May 9 | Spanish GP | Barcelona |
| May 23 | Monaco GP | Monaco |
| May 30 | European GP | Nurburgring |
| Jun 13 | Canadian GP | Montreal |
| Jun 20 | US GP | Indianapolis |
| Jul 4 | British GP | Silverstone |
| Jul 11 | French GP | Magny-Cours |
| Jul 25 | German GP | Hockenheim |
| Aug 15 | Hungarian GP | Budapest |
| Aug 29 | Belgian GP | Spa-Francorchamps |
| Sep 12 | Italian GP | Monza |
| Sep 26 | Chinese GP | Shanghai |
| Oct 10 | Japanese GP | Suzuka |
| Oct 24 | Brazilian GP | Sao Paulo |
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