The Formula One season will stretch to 19 races in 2009 after a race in Abu Dhabi was added to the calendar.

The season will start later than normal in Australia on 29 March and will end in Abu Dhabi on 15 November.

The race, which will take place on a new harbourside street circuit, will become the second Grand Prix in the Middle East after Bahrain.

The British Grand Prix at Silverstone has been moved from its July slot and will take place on 21 June.

The sport's governing body, the FIA, published the draft calendar on Wednesday after a meeting of its World Motor Sport Council in Paris.

The French Grand Prix, which has been the subject of much speculation about its future, will take place on 28 June but there is still no place for the US Grand Prix.

Brazil, which was previously the season finale, will instead become the penultimate round after races in the Far East in Singapore, Japan and China.

606: DEBATE Give your reaction to the new calendar

The Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul reverts to August after being held in May this year, with Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya hosting the opening European race, the Spanish Grand Prix.

There will be four back-to-back races, starting with Australia and Malaysia.

Formula One has only once before had a 19-round championship, in 2005, but earlier this year, team bosses backed plans to expand the calendar to 20 races a year.

India and South Korea are hoping to make their debuts in 2010 while Formula One's commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone would like to include Russia and the United States.

Provisional calendar:
29 March - Australia (Melbourne)
5 April - Malaysia (Sepang)
19 April - Bahrain (Manama)
10 May - Spain (Barcelona)
24 May - Monaco
7 June - Canada (Montreal)
21 June - Britain (Silverstone)
28 June - France (Magny-Cours)
12 July - Germany (Nuerburgring)
26 July - Hungary (Budapest)
9 August - Turkey (Istanbul)
23 August - Europe (Valencia)
6 September - Italy (Monza)
13 September - Belgium (Spa-Francorchamps)
27 September - Singapore
11 October - Japan (Suzuka)
18 October - China (Shanghai)
1 November - Brazil (Interlagos)
15 November - Abu Dhabi