F1: 2015 schedule to feature 21 races, no double points

Formula One will do away with double points and standing restarts for the 2015 season, while South Korea looks to make a return to the Formula One calendar.

The decisions were ratified by the World Motor Sport Council, which met on Wednesday. The tentative South Korean race is set to take place on May 3, but is subject to approval and would take place just one weekend before the Spanish Grand Prix.

Other announcements made at the meeting in Doha were the implementation of the Virtual Safety Car for 2015, the Accident Panel’s findings on Jules Bianchi’s crash, and a rule that drivers must be at least 18 years of age to apply for a super license, which will go into effect in 2016.

Changes to the penalty system and the safety car procedure will also be put into effect. If a driver is unable to take a full grid penalty (because he’s starting near the back of the field anyways), he will be given a time penalty post-race as opposed to an additional grid penalty in the subsequent races.

Meanwhile, after letting lapped cars past, the safety car will not be required to wait for them to catch the tail end of the field before pulling in.

Tentative 2015 F1 calendar:

March 15: Australia
March 29: Malaysia
April 12: China
April 19: Bahrain
May 3: Korea (TBC)
May 10: Spain
May 24: Monaco
June 7: Canada
June 21: Austria
July 5: Great Britain
July 19: Germany
July 26: Hungary
August 23: Belgium
September 6: Italy
September 20: Singapore
September 27: Japan
October 11: Russia
October 25: USA
November 1: Mexico
November 15: Brazil
November 29: Abu Dhabi