'Not Bahrain, but Saudi Arabia hosts opening race in 2024'

The Saudi Arabia Grand Prix will be the opening race of the Formula One season in 2024. This is what Autosport.com know on the basis of information gathered. This calendar year, the first race weekend will still take place in Bahrain, but that will change a year later.

The information is said to stem from the unofficial contract extension of the Australian GP. The organisation is said to have extended its commitment with Formula 1 until 2037, which included that at least four opening races will be held in Australia during that period.

This would exclude the 2024 season, as the allocation for that would have already gone to Saudi Arabia. In that year, Ramadan takes place from Sunday 10 March to 8 April, so the first race of the season would be held in early March.

Last calendar year, the race weekend took place for the first time. In the penultimate race of the season, Lewis Hamilton managed to win. This season, it was second on the calendar and Max Verstappen was the big winner. The Formula 1 race in Saudi Arabia will be second on the calendar again in 2023.