Formula 1 makes room for Ramadan: first two GPs of 2024 to take place on Saturday. Sunday, March 10 marks the beginning of the sacred month for Muslims.

Changes in the Calendar
We have just entered 2024, but already the minds of all Formula 1 enthusiasts are focused on the very first days of March when the sport – after completing the usual ‘formality’ of the increasingly shorter winter pre-season testing session – will be in Bahrain for the first Grand Prix of the 2024 Formula One season. While waiting to see if anyone can at least try to break Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s dominance, the first novelty will be presented by the calendar.

The opening race of the new season will indeed start on March 2 – never so early since 1992 when the race took place on the 1st of the same month in South Africa – on a Saturday. Thus, in some way, it follows the recent case of Las Vegas on November 18 last year when the race started at 10:00 PM on Saturday, the time of the American West Coast. In that case, the ‘slot’ was found to maximize TV ratings. This time, however, the reason is different and will not only involve the Sakhir race but also round 2 in Saudi Arabia.

Making Room for Ramadan
The Jeddah race was supposed to take place on Sunday, March 10, but on that day, the sacred month of fasting for Islam, Ramadan, begins in Muslim countries. Therefore, it has been decided to advance the schedule by one day, allowing the GP to take place on Saturday, March 9. This ‘change’ has also affected, in reverse, the Bahrain race.

For logistical reasons, given the dense world championship schedule with the planned ‘back-to-back,’ it was preferred to have the opening event of the championship run a day earlier than tradition would dictate. The first two races of the year will, therefore, be held on Saturdays. An unusual ‘trio’ that will be completed at the end of the season once again by the Las Vegas event, scheduled for November 23, 2024, and confirmed at the same time as its debut edition.