22 October 2006 17:00:00 gmt+0000 until the 2006 Sao Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil.

Formula 1's team chiefs breathed a collective sigh of relief on Wednesday 26th October 2005 when the FIA finally announced next year's Grand Prix calendar, comprising 19 races.

The FIA have come under criticism for creating a punishing schedule this year after the 2005 calendar was packed with the highest number of races ever run in one season.

This years 19 events were packed between March 6 and October 16 and there were some fears that this punishing schedule could be increased to include 20 races over the same period in 2006 but those plans have been put on hold, at least for next year

Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner said:

"There has not been much dialogue with the teams about the calendar but I think it all looks pretty sensible " . . ."To have 19 races is a gruelling calendar for anyone but there are no triple headers, as were feared, and not too many manic back-to-backs. Bahrain and Malaysia to start with will be a tight one but there are no surprises."

There have been several changes to the calendar due to other major sporting events in 2006, including the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and the football World Cup in Germany.

The British Grand Prix at Silverstone has given up its traditional July date, which clashed with the World Cup final, to a weekend in early June, which will clash with the opening eight games of the tournament.

That doesn't bother British Racing Drivers' Club president Sir Jackie Stewart; he said:

"We want to retain the traditional July date in future but we are happy to move for this one " . . . "England in June can be nice, and it's my birthday that day too. You don't want two major events on the same day - you want maximum attendance and maximum television viewers."

The traditional season-opening in Australian has also been moved from its March date to avoid a clash with the Commonwealth Games and Bahrain takes its place with the Melbourne race now third on the calendar.

The calendar has been the subject of much debate, with a track in the Mexican resort of Cancun initially mooted as a possible addition for 2006, but for the first time in three years there will be no new venue in the schedule.

Turkey made its debut this year, following on from inaugural races in Bahrain and China in 2004, but it seems inevitable that the calendar must expand in the future as more and more countries join the queue to host an event.

Mexico is still pushing for a place, Japan is keen for a second race at the Fuji circuit, while India, Russia, Azerbaijan and South Africa are among many who have tentative plans to join the fray.

There have been calls to cut testing in favour of more racing, and Horner believes that could be the way to go. He said:

"Doing more races is not really an issue if the calendar is allowed to run later, but testing costs us money for little gain. However, I think we may come to the conclusion that 19 races is enough."

Provisional 2006 Formula 1 Calendar:

• March 12 2006: Bahrain (Doha)
• March 19 2006: Malaysia (Sepang
• April 2 2006: Australia (Melbourne)
• April 23 2006: San Marino (Imola)
• May 7 2006: European (Nuerburgring, Germany)
• May 14 2006: Spain (Barcelona)
• May 28 2006: Monaco (Monte Carlo)
• June 11 2006: Britain (Silverstone)
• June 25 2006: Canada (Montreal)
• July 2 2006: United States (Indianapolis)
• July 16 2006: France (Magny-Cours)
• July 30 2006: Germany (Hockenheim)
• August 6 2006: Hungary (Hungaroring)
• August 27 2006: Turkey (Istanbul)
• September 10 2006: Italy (Monza)
• September 17 2006: Belgium (Spa-Francorchamps)
• October 1 2006: Japan (Suzuka)
• October 8 2006: China (Shanghai)
• October 22 2006: Brazil (Interlagos)

A copy ofthe official FIA's 2006 International Sporting Calendar (adobe pdf) is available for free download in our download centre.pdf