c52c1d67d07797060862a88900f5b501254d5571

What time will European fans have to wake up for the Australian Grand Prix?

13:51, 22 Jan 2024

byMatt

The Australian Grand Prix is an upcoming race on the F1 schedule. It will be the 3rd round of the 2024 Formula 1 season and will play host to the first Sunday race of the year. The 2024 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne will occur at Albert Park on Saturday, March 24, at 04:00 BST.

Max Verstappen won the 2023 World Championship without much competition, and early signs of that dominance were shown at Albert Park. However, it turned out to be one of the strangest races of the year, with a double red flag at the end.

Why is the Australian Grand Prix the first Sunday race of 2024?

The reason is Ramadan. The annual fasting period for Muslims in 2024 starts on Sunday, March 10, as soon as the sun sets. Therefore, the organisers of motorsport's top class wanted to ensure that Saudi Arabia's Grand Prix weekend (round two) ends as early as Saturday. Saudi Arabia is an Islamic country. The weekend in Jeddah ends on Saturday, so the first two free practice sessions will already take place on Thursday. This also directly impacts the opening weekend in Bahrain, which is scheduled a week earlier than Saudi Arabia.

Teams always arrive at the circuit on Wednesday at the earliest, on a normal race weekend. But because the free practice sessions in Jeddah are already on Thursday, all teams will need/want to be there on Tuesday. That is logistically unfeasible if there is still racing in Bahrain on Sunday. So, the race there will also be on Saturday, allowing more time to move the whole circus to Saudi Arabia. The event in Australia follows an off weekend, so the schedule can return to normal.

When will the drivers be in action?

The Australian Grand Prix weekend will use the traditional format. Two practice sessions will be held on Friday, with a third on Saturday. Qualifying will occur on Saturday afternoon, with the Grand Prix completed on Sunday. This will also be the first race of the year without floodlights, as the event takes place in the daytime. That means an early wake-up call for European fans.