Bahrain Gp: Saturday Race Day Explained

The 2024 Formula 1 season began on Saturday, March 2, with the following Saudi Arabian GP also taking place on a Saturday—a break in tradition for the sport. The reason for this change is the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which starts at sunset on Saturday, March 9, 2024, the day of the race in Jeddah. As people observing Ramadan are expected to fast between sunrise and sunset, holding the race on Sunday, March 10, as initially scheduled, would have posed a challenge. To avoid this clash, the race in Saudi Arabia was moved forward by a day to Saturday, and as per FIA rules that dictate a full seven days between Grands Prix, the opening round in Bahrain was also adjusted to a Saturday.

The 2024 F1 season has a record 24 Grands Prix

The 2024 F1 season is set to be the longest in the sport's history, with a record 24 Grands Prix taking place. The season will also kick off with two races on Saturday, in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, instead of the traditional Sunday. This is due to the Islamic holy month of Ramadan starting on Sunday, 10 March—the day the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was initially scheduled for. As a result, the race has been brought forward to Saturday, 9 March, with the Bahrain Grand Prix taking place a week earlier, also on a Saturday, to adhere to FIA rules that require a full seven days between Grands Prix.

The Las Vegas Grand Prix, scheduled for 23 November, will also be held on a Saturday. This is due to the significant time difference with Europe. The race will take place at 10 pm local time on Saturday night in the US, which would be 6 am Monday morning in the UK if the race were held on a Sunday as usual. Holding the race on Saturday night instead will allow more F1 fans worldwide to tune in.

"We have found a solution so that European fans can watch the race with a cup of coffee at six or seven in the morning, just like it happens in the U.S. during the European races," said Las Vegas GP CEO, Renee Wilm.

The 2024 F1 calendar includes other races that will take place on days other than Sunday. For example, Round 5 in China and Round 6 in Miami will be sprint races, as will Round 11 in Austria, Round 19 in the United States, Round 21 in Brazil, Round 23 in Qatar, and Round 24 in Abu Dhabi.

Ramadan starts on Sunday, March 10, 2024

The 2024 Formula 1 season is set to break convention with three races taking place on Saturdays. The opening two races of the season, in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, are each taking place one day earlier than normal. This is due to the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which starts at sunset on Saturday, March 9, 2024, the day of the race in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. As a result, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix has been brought forward by one day to Saturday, March 9.

The Bahrain Grand Prix, which took place on Saturday, March 2, 2024, was also moved forward by one day. This is because of two reasons. Firstly, the FIA rules dictate that there must be a full seven days between Grands Prix. Secondly, if the opening race were to take place on Sunday, the F1 teams would have one less day to travel to Saudi Arabia. The journey between the two countries takes nearly 15 hours by car.

During Ramadan, which starts on Sunday, March 10, 2024, Muslims are expected to fast for an entire month between sunrise and sunset and participate in daily prayer. Holding the race on Sunday would have clashed with the religious observances of those celebrating Ramadan.

The Las Vegas Grand Prix, scheduled for November 23, will also be held on a Saturday. This is due to the significant time difference with Europe. The race takes place at 10 pm local time, and if held on a Sunday, it would start at 6 am on Monday morning in the UK.

FIA rules require a seven-day gap between races

The 2024 Formula 1 season is set to break convention, with the first two races of the season, the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix, taking place on a Saturday. This is due to the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which starts at sunset on Saturday, 9 March 2024, the day of the race in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. As a result of the scheduling, the race in Bahrain, which usually takes place on a Sunday, has also been brought forward by a day.

The reason for this is twofold. Firstly, the FIA (Federation Internationale de l'Automobile) rules dictate that there must be a full seven days between Grands Prix. This means that the Bahrain GP, which precedes the Saudi Arabian GP, had to take place a day earlier than usual to accommodate the change. Secondly, the F1 circus would have had one less day to travel to Saudi Arabia if the opening race in Bahrain were to take place on a Sunday. The journey between the two countries is nearly 15 hours by car, so a reduced travel window is not ideal.

The Las Vegas Grand Prix, scheduled for 23 November 2024, will also be held on a Saturday. This is due to the significant time difference with Europe. The race will take place at 10 pm local time, which would be 6 am on a Monday morning in the UK if it were held on a Sunday. Holding the race on a Saturday will allow more F1 fans worldwide to tune in.

The race in Jeddah was moved to Saturday, March 9

Ramadan is a key religious holiday in the Muslim calendar, during which people are expected to fast for an entire month between sunrise and sunset and participate in daily prayer. As F1 races usually take place on Sundays, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix had to be rescheduled to avoid coinciding with the start of Ramadan.

This change also impacted the scheduling of the Bahrain Grand Prix, which took place a week earlier, on Saturday, March 2. According to FIA rules, there must be at least seven days between races. Therefore, the Bahrain Grand Prix, the season opener, was also moved forward by one day to maintain the required gap between the two events.

The schedule for the races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia was adjusted accordingly, with free practice sessions on Thursday and the third free practice and qualifying sessions on Friday. The races themselves took place on Saturday, with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix starting at 5 pm GMT.

The Las Vegas Grand Prix, scheduled for November 23, will also be held on a Saturday. This decision was made to accommodate viewers worldwide, particularly in the United States and Europe. The race will take place at 10 pm local time in Las Vegas, which corresponds to 6 am or 7 am in Europe, allowing fans on both continents to watch at a convenient time.

The Las Vegas GP is also on a Saturday due to time differences

The 2024 Formula 1 season will see a break from convention, with the first two races of the season taking place on a Saturday, rather than the traditional Sunday. The season opener in Bahrain and the following Saudi Arabian GP have been moved forward a day due to the Islamic holy month of Ramadan starting on Sunday, 10 March. As the Saudi Arabian race was scheduled for that weekend, it has been moved to the previous day, Saturday 9 March.

As the FIA stipulates that there must be a full seven days between Grands Prix, the opening race in Bahrain has also been rescheduled to a Saturday. This means that the two season-opening rounds will follow this schedule:

• Thursday: Practice One and Practice Two
• Friday: Practice Three and Qualifying
• Saturday: Grand Prix

The Las Vegas GP, scheduled for 23 November, will also be held on a Saturday. This is due to time differences and the desire to provide a convenient viewing time for a global audience. The eight-hour time difference between Las Vegas and the UK means that a Sunday race would start at 6 am on Monday morning for UK viewers. By holding the race on Saturday, it is hoped that more F1 fans worldwide will tune in.

Renee Wilm, CEO of the Las Vegas GP, explained: "We have found a solution so that European fans can watch the race with a cup of coffee at six or seven in the morning, just like it happens in the U.S. during the European races." For American viewers, the race will take place at 10 pm on Saturday evening.

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