F1 News
Hamilton could debut at Ferrari Down Under: Early morning for his fans
After three years of opening the season in the Middle East, Formula 1 is likely to start with the Australian Grand Prix in 2025. Ramadan - which in '25 starts as early as February - is partly the reason. Indeed, it is far from ideal to host top sporting events in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia during the fasting period for the Muslim community.
An official confirmation from Formula 1 is still awaited, but in the paddock there is now loud talk of the opening race in Melbourne and thus not Bahrain as the first race of the year. Lewis Hamilton, for example, was asked in the Australian city whether he does not resent the fact that in a year's time his debut with Ferrari will be watched in native Britain at 4:00 in the morning?
"You can’t please everyone," the - currently still a - Mercedes driver responded. "You're on the other side of the world. I don't think you want to have it later. I don't know what the solution is for it, it's not my job obviously to come up with that. But as long as we get to come here, I love this track, this race. I think it was always the best first race of the season. So it's exciting to hear that this is the first one for next year. It just takes me back to when I first started."
Melbourne was the opening race for years
The test days would be completed in Bahrain in '25, by the way, before the whole circus thus moved Down Under. The Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne was the season opener in Formula One for many years, but that came to an end after 2020. In that particular year, the Grand Prix was cancelled at the very last minute because of the emerging corona virus. The following season, the Grand Prix was not run.