Patronise F1

The World Motor Sport Council has ratified a newly-reorganised schedule for the 2012 Formula One season, with the Turkish Grand Prix being dropped as expected, and the Bahrain Grand Prix being moved to a late April date.

The new schedule was confirmed after a fax vote of the members of the WMSC, with the finalised schedule differing slightly from Bernie Ecclestone's proposed reshuffle following concerns from the teams over the late-season congestion in his plan.

The new schedule sees the 2012 season commence on March 18th with the Australian Grand Prix, and end in Brazil on November 25th.

The Bahrain Grand Prix, which Ecclestone was looking to move back to give the country time to resolve their current political issues, has been moved to April 22nd, rather than Ecclestone's proposed November date.

The newly-ratified calendar does see the new United States GP pushed back to the penultimate slot on the schedule, in a double-header with the Brazilian finale, following concerns over high temperatures in Texas during their originally-planned June date.

The new schedule also differs from the original FIA plan published in early June by moving the Korean GP back towards the end of the season, after the Yeongam event was originally scheduled in a double-header with the Chinese GP in April.

The FIA confirmed the revised schedule in a press release on Wednesday, saying that the WMSC fax vote passed the calendar plan "by unanimous decision" between its members.

As predicted, last-ditch efforts to save the Turkish Grand Prix were not successful, and the Istanbul event will vanish from the F1 calendar next year.

The Istanbul Park race debuted on the calendar in 2005, but has struggled to pull in fans since it arrived in Formula One.

The loss of the Turkish race will keep the 2012 schedule at 20 races, which has been described as the ideal maximum number for the sport by both FIA president Jean Todt and Bernie Ecclestone.