Canadian GP dropped from 2009 schedule

Oct 7, 2008 - 2:00 PM PARIS (Ticker) -- The Canadian Grand Prix has been dropped from the Formula One calendar for the 2009 season.

The World Motor Sport Council met in Paris on Tuesday and decided to go ahead with a program with no races in North America.

The addition of an Abu Dhabi grand prix to the calendar means the season remains 18 races long.

Next year's calendar also allows for a summer break as the Turkish GP has moved from August to June.

The British GP is scheduled for Silverstone on June 21 and it is set to be the last time the Northamptonshire circuit hosts the event.

Plans have already been unveiled for Donington Park to stage the race from 2010 onwards, providing necessary work is done at the Leicestershire circuit to bring it up to standard.

The WMSC also agreed to give FIA president Max Mosley the authority to deal with the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) over the implementation of "radical measures to achieve a substantial reduction of costs in the championship from 2010".

"Failing agreement with FOTA, the FIA will enforce the necessary measures to achieve this goal," the FIA said in a statement. "It was further unanimously agreed to allow Formula One teams to equalize engine performance across the field for 2009, pending the introduction of cost-saving measures from 2010."

The 2009 F1 calendar is: Australia March 29, Malaysia April 5, Bahrain April 9, Spain May 10, Monaco May 24, Turkey June 7, Great Britain June 21, France June 28, Germany July 12, Hungary July 26, Europe (Valencia) August 23, Belgium August 30, Italy September 13, Singapore September 27, Japan October 11, China October 18, Brazil November 1, and Abu Dhabi November 15.