Why has the start time changed for the Australian Grand Prix?

For Formula One fans in Europe, it will be an early start. When the lights go out on Sunday, 24 March, in Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix, it will be just after 15:00 locally. This is 5am CET/4am UK time. A year ago, this race started at 7am CET/6am UK time. Why has that changed?

At the end of the 2023 Australian Grand Prix, drivers complained about the low sun in the closing stages of the race, partly because the race was hugely delayed due to multiple red flags. Towards the end of the race, dusk fell on the Albert Park circuit.

To accommodate the drivers, the Grand Prix will start at 15:00 local time again this year, but there is a difference: in Melbourne, unlike in '23, winter time has not yet started. In Europe, daylight saving time has not yet kicked in, so the time difference is 10 hours.

For European fans, the decision could have been made to start the Grand Prix at 16:00 (local time), but in that case, the low sun could have inconvenienced the drivers again.