Is China finally set to give up on Formula One and scrap its Shanghai grand prix?

China could be about to call time on its showpiece Formula One grand prix after FIA on Tuesday released the schedule for next season with the Shanghai race marked as provisional, having yet to secure a commercial rights deal with the F1 group.

The provisional calendar lists 21 races for next season with the French Grand Prix returning to the fold for the first time in 10 years, but China and Singapore are yet to be rubber-stamped.

A spokesman for race organiser Shanghai International Circuit would only confirm negotiations with Formula One were ongoing, but said there was unlikely to be a decision made until December.

That means the future of the race will be up in the air until just five months before the proposed date for the 2018 edition.

Since it was first held in 2004, there have been intermittent rumours over the future of the Shanghai race and its viability amid falling attendances.

Before the last seven-year deal was struck in 2010, it was reported that organisers had failed to see a profit in the first seven years of operation.