Why is the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix on a Saturday? — new schedule for F1 season-opener

F1
- Last updated: February 5th 2024

F1's season-opening 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix will be held on Saturday — as will the following race in Saudi Arabia. Here's why, and what the schedule looks like for all of this year's Saturday grands prix

2024 Bahrain Grand Prix start line

The 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix will be held on a Saturday — but why?

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Don’t get caught out and miss the first Formula 1 race of the year: the season-opening 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix will be held on a Saturday in a break with modern convention.

The arrangement, made to accommodate the start of Ramadan on the F1 calendar, will see the whole weekend’s schedule at the Sakhir circuit pulled forward by 24 hours. The first practice sessions take place on Thursday 29 April; qualifying on Friday; and then lights out for the Grand Prix will be at 3pm GMT on Saturday 2 March.

A week later, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will also run on a Saturday, and it is actually this round responsible for the unusual timetabling: the Jeddah race falls on the same weekend as the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, on Sunday 10 March.

To avoid a clash, the Saudi race was moved to the Saturday. The decision was then made to pull the Bahrain round forwards by 24 hours as well, easing pressure on team staff who would otherwise lose a crucial day between the races when they have to pack their equipment up at Sakhir and reassemble it in Jeddah.

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A two-week gap to the next race in Australia allows a return to the more familiar race weekend schedule and a Sunday grand prix.

Starting the season with a Saturday race could be seen as being in the best traditions of Formula 1: the very first world championship race, at Silverstone in 1950 was also held on a Saturday.

The 1985 South African Grand Prix was the last world championship race to run on a Saturday until last year when the late-night Las Vegas Grand Prix started at 10pm local time. European fans were by then several hours into Sunday morning.

This year’s Las Vegas race is again scheduled to start at 10pm on Saturday. For viewers in Britain, that will equate to the lights going out at 6am on Sunday.

All 2024 F1 grands prix hosted on a Saturday

Times in GMT

Race Thursday Friday Saturday
2024 Bahrain Grand Prix
29 February – 2 March		 FP1 — 11.30am
FP2 — 3pm		 FP3 — 12.30pm
Qualifying — 4pm		 Grand Prix — 3pm
2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
7 March – 9 March		 FP1 — 1.30pm
FP2 — 5pm		 FP3 — 1.30pm
Qualifying — 5pm		 Grand Prix — 5pm
2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix
22 November – 24 November 		 TBC TBC Grand Prix — (10pm local time, 6am Sunday GMT)

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