Paris (AFP)

The 2022 Monaco Grand Prix will take place over three days, like all the others on the calendar, and no longer over four days as was the case according to a tradition in the Principality, announced Wednesday the president of Formula 1.

"Monaco will take place over three days, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, directly, instead of Thursday - break on Friday - then Saturday and Sunday," Stefano Domenicali told CNN.

The Monaco GP, a historic F1 event, had so far the particularity of starting a day before, with free practice organized on Thursday and not on Friday as elsewhere.

Historically, the Monaco GP, present during the first year of the F1 world championship in 1950, was organized during the Ascension weekend.

Thursday being a public holiday, this day was chosen to run the cars, before a break on Friday, then qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday.

For the Principality and its traders, this made it possible to have an increased public presence, for four days instead of three.

This singularity was maintained until now even if the GP was not organized each time at the Ascension.

In addition, Domenicali has confirmed the holding of the French Grand Prix in 2022, while rumors regularly evoke the disappearance of the French event.

Asked about the presence of the race on the Paul Ricard circuit in Le Castellet (south), the Italian only answered "Yes" without giving any further indication of his future.

The F1 CEO also said that "the plan is to have 23 races" in 2022, a record number, after 22 GPs staged in 2021, and to finish the season "earlier" - before December as is. the case this season.

The 2022 calendar will be announced at the World Motorsport Council on October 15, he added.

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