Two races set to swap dates on 2018 F1 calendar

F1 commercial director Sean Bratches confirmed on Wednesday that China and Bahrain could potentially swap dates on next season's schedule.

Formula 1 has yet to confirm China's presence on the sport's calendar for next year.

While Bratches is confident Shanghai will host the race, its tentative date of April 8 coincides with the country's Qingming three-day national holiday, a timing which could negatively impact attendance numbers.

Bahrain, which is scheduled to take place the following weekend, could therefore change its slot with China.

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"We’re trying to take into account global events, local events, religious holidays and things to ensure that...we’re maximizing the opportunity for fans to attend the grands prix," Bratches told Reuters.

"We’re talking to both of them (China and Bahrain) to that end and if we can reach a mutually agreed upon solution, which appears to be on track to happen, you’ll probably see that," he said.

Singapore and China were listed as provisional in the initial draft of Formula 1's 2018 calendar which was released back in June by the FIA.

The former was confirmed last weekend and Bratches is fully expecting China to sign on soon.

"We’re incredibly optimistic on bringing that to fruition, just like we did with Singapore last week," he said.

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