New Jersey, Mexico, Korea see red in 2014

Races in New Jersey, Mexico and South Korea were dropped from Formula One's official 2014 calendar on Wednesday, with the season remaining at 19 races instead of a record 22.

All three Grands Prix had been listed provisionally, with asterisks against them, on a previous calendar published in September by the sport's governing International Automobile Federation (FIA). None appeared however on the final version issued on Wednesday after a meeting of the FIA's World Motor Sports Council in Paris.

New Jersey's Grand Prix of the Americas, with New York's skyscraper skyline as a backdrop, had been due for a debut this year but that had to be postponed due to financial issues which continue to plague the race.

Mexico would have been making its return in November after a 22-year absence but there have been doubts over the readiness of the Mexico City track. The poorly-attended Korean race, one of the least popular among Formula One's fraternity, has sustained heavy losses.

Organisers, whose race at Yeongam in the far south was due to be moved from October to April, had sought a contract re-negotiation with the sport's hard-nosed commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone. India has also been axed from the 2014 calendar, although race promoters are hoping to return in 2015, while Austria is back after a decade away and Russia hosts a race for the first time in next year's Winter Olympic city of Sochi.
The revised calendar led to a reshuffling of some date and teams will be particularly relieved not to have the logistical headache of a 'triple header' of Monaco, New Jersey and Canada to contend with on successive weekends in May and June.

The cancellation of Mexico sees Brazil's Interlagos and Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina swap places with the Middle East circuit now due to end the season on Nov 23.