Formula One racing returns to the USA for 2012 season

(AFP PHOTO/Gabriel BOUYS)

Formula One racing will return to the USA thanks to a new custom-built track in Austin, Texas, that will host the American Grand Prix until 2021.

It will be the first Formula One race on American soil since the Indianapolis GP in 2007, following the Canadian GP's return to the sporting calendar in 2010.

Marking the continuing expansion of the Formula One schedule, 2012 will see up to 25 races take place around the world. The 2010 calendar is already up by two on 2009's 17 locations, and the addition of the Indian Grand Prix takes the total to at least 20 by 2011.

Though the exact date of the 2012 American Grand Prix is not known, Formula One season calendars are usually published in late October of the previous year.

The second and third weekends in March can be ruled out by virtue of Austin's South by SouthWest cultural festival which takes place during that period.