2024 F1 season, possible calendar changes: Suzuka in March for logistical and religious reasons

2024 F1 season, possible calendar changes: Suzuka in March for logistical and religious reasons. Possible calendar changes.

The return of Shanghai
We are still at the beginning of the 2023 season, but with the long break from competitions which will extend until the end of April, for Formula 1 it is already time to think about the next calendar. Contrary to this year, which does not include the Chinese Grand Prix, the next world championship could welcome the sport back to the Shanghai circuit after the nightmare years of the Covid-19 pandemic, and this would open up a hypothesis currently being studied for a triple-header in the region.

Suzuka in March: a logistical question, but not only
Unlike in recent years, in which the world championship kicked off in the Middle East, the next championship could concretely undergo a change mainly for religious reasons. In fact, the idea is to carry out the pre-season testing session and the first race of the year in Bahrain and in Saudi Arabia respectively, at the beginning of March, but with the arrival of the Islamic holiday of Ramadan, Formula 1 would move to Australia, from 15 to 17 March, without therefore remaining in the Middle East for the second round of the season. With this move, the idea is to schedule two more consecutive races in Asia, also and above all for logistical reason: the first in the aforementioned China, while the second, contrary to tradition, in Japan, and therefore act as the fourth appointment of the 2024 Formula 1 championship from 29 to 31 March 2024.

The pros and cons
The Suzuka track (as well as that of Fuji in other cases) has always been placed in the final period of the championship, if not even as the last race of the world championship from 2001 to 2003. All this to avoid greater humidity and the risk of rain affecting the race weekend when scheduled in the first months of the year in Japan, but according to what was reported by the Spanish journalist Luis Vasconcelos, the hypothesis of an unprecedented Japanese appointment at the end of March could become real, both for the logistical issues already highlighted and for a less impact of the time zone for drivers and teams. However, the fact remains that three consecutive races in an area of the world far from the team headquarters will still be the subject of discussion.

Singapore again in September
Furthermore, the role of the Singapore Grand Prix will make this plan even more probable. The latter, which was also in the running to be moved at the beginning of the year, will instead remain in the month of September, and this would give way to another triple-header in the region consisting of the Marina Bay night appointment, followed by two more races in the spotlight such as those in Bahrain and Qatar, when Ramadan 2024 will therefore be over.