Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, Albert Park, 2018

Australia confirms earlier date for 2019 F1 season-opener

2019 F1 season

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The Australian Grand Prix organisers have confirmed the 2019 F1 season will begin one week earlier than this year, as RaceFans reported last month.

Next year’s Formula 1 championship will begin at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne on March 17th. The date is “set to be formally ratified by the FIA at their forthcoming World Motor Sport Council meeting later this year,” the organisers said in a statement.

Australian Grand Prix Corporation CEO Andrew Westacott said he was pleased to be able to announce the date for next year’s race so early.

“To announce the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix 2019 date more than eight months out from the event is fantastic news and we hope this will encourage overseas and interstate visitors to plan for a lengthy visit to Melbourne and Victoria,” he said.

Next year’s championship is also expected to end one week later than usual as the 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix slated to take place in December. However the German Grand Prix will not appear on next year’s calendar.

Albert Park has hosted the Australian Grand Prix in every F1 season since 1996. Next year will be the 22nd time the Melbourne circuit has held the first round of the world championship.

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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18 comments on “Australia confirms earlier date for 2019 F1 season-opener”

  1. I wish it’d remain in late-March to keep the season as condensed as possible, but no significant difference either way. Nevertheless, the dates for any given season’s races are always ‘provisional’ only until at least September (officially until late-November/early-December) of the preceding year, so, therefore, nothing’s set in stone concerning the dates for next season’s races until later into the year. BTW, next season’s edition will be the 24th on the Albert Park venue, not 22nd. The 2017 race was the 22nd.

    1. You need to re-read the article.
      “Albert Park has hosted the Australian Grand Prix in every F1 season since 1996.

      Next year will be the 22nd time the Melbourne circuit has held the first round of the world championship.”

      1. @Tony I indeed had counted the number of Australian GPs that have taken place on the current venue correctly, but I had misread the latter sentence of the last paragraph as ‘Next year will be the 22nd time the Melbourne circuit has held a round of the world championship.’ Somehow, I managed to miss the word ‘first’ there, LOL.

  2. I expect some people here will act as if F1 lasting 2 weeks longer will change their lives.

    1. It does. A longer season makes my life better. ;)

    2. @mashiat it depends how many races are squeezed into those 2 weeks longer.

      if there is an extra race or 2 then it’s an extra weekend or 2 with less time to spend with family/friends, especially with everything been 1 hour later now meaning that pretty much the whole of saturday/sunday afternoon is now spent watching F1. i miss the old start times that left time to get other stuff done after a race before having to start prepping sunday tea.

      and these double/triple headers are a real killer to the point where i’m not looking forward to next weekend been the 3rd in a row.

      for as much as i love f1 i do not wish to dedicate my entire life to it and more races, longer seasons & silly hour later start times are really starting to feel like i am and its really sapping my love for it away…. family ain’t happy about it either.

      1. RogerAyles ”it depends how many races are squeezed into those 2 weeks longer.”
        – None. This is purely about different things than something that isn’t really even on the agenda according to Carey.

  3. Can’t understand why the season doesn’t start on the first week of march like it used to

    1. @Bradley What’s wrong with it starting in mid to late-March as has been the case for quite some time already?

  4. Just booked my flights.

    1. @thecollaroyboys I’d wait until September at least as the dates for any given season’s races are always ‘provisional’ only until at least that month of the preceding year. In late-November/early-December they will become absolutely final.

      1. @jerejj I don’t know if you are from Australia but the Sydney-Melbourne flight is one of the busiest and most expensive around. It can cost as much as a flight to Singapore to do the 1 1/2 hour flight to Melbourne. I booked my flights on points and already there’s very few seats left at peak times. Full fair in peak is around $800 return at the moment. I’m happy to take the risk. I also booked my hotel for three consecutive weekends just to be sure, this year all I could get was a 5 night minimum stay.

        1. @thecollaroyboys OK, fair enough, and FYI I’m not from Australia, LOL.

  5. I would prefer the season to run from mid-march to mid-November like it used to do. I cannot see why it needs to run into December. When do the teams get a break to develop the new season’s cars?

    Mind you I would limit the season to 20 races which I think is enough for everyone. I imagine, this would also be slightly cheaper as less work on the following season’s car would need to be done in season. So less staff time and less travel.

    Simples!

    1. @phil-f1-21 What’s wrong with late-March to late-November? Furthermore, the season wouldn’t really run into December as only the race itself would take place in that month while the practice and the qualifying sessions would still take place in November. Should the Abu Dhabi GP next season take place a week later than this season, then it’d only take place two days further into the year than the 2015 edition, which took place on the 29th of November (there’s only one full day between that day and the 1st of December), so, therefore, in the end, it wouldn’t really make a difference.

  6. If Miami happens then that should be the first race for the 2020 season, two weeks after Australia.

    1. *before Australia

    2. @mfreire But that isn’t the case. If it were to happen, then it’d most likely take place in October as that’s the initial target month for it.

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