Why is the F1 2024 Bahrain GP race being held on Saturday instead of Sunday?

The moment of truth has arrived in Formula 1. The pre-season tests are already in the rear view mirror and the season is around the corner. This weekend marks the start of a new year where every team has the Red Bull team in their crosshairs. They dominated last season, with every race apart from Singapore and Qatar in their trophy case.

Although perhaps more than focusing on Red Bull, we should keep our eyes on Max Verstappen. The Dutchman returns for another season as world champion, his third in a row. Since the beginning of 2022, he has done little other than show off that car.

The Bahrain Grand Prix, held on the Sakhir Circuit, will be the first stop on what will be a record breaking season calendar. There will be 24 Grands Prix held the year, including the Chinese Grand Prix, which was cancelled for three consecutive years due to the coronavirus pandemic. For the moment at least, it looks like China will go ahead this year. There are, however, two unusual changes to the competition calendar: the races in Bahrain, on March 2, and Saudi Arabia, on the 9th of the same month, will be held on a Saturday instead of the traditional Sunday.

The dates that have been chosen for this start of the championship mean that the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix coincides with the beginning of Ramadan, the most important month of the Islamic calendar, during which millions of Muslims will fast from all food and water during daylight hours. Due to the coincidence of these two major events, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia asked the FIA to advance the race by one day so as to avoid conflict. The FIA readily complied but realized that it would require a further calendar adjustment to comply with the rules of the Formula 1 World Championship itself. The regulations indicate that there must be at least one full week between two races, meaning that the Bahrain Grand Prix would also have to be brought forward by one day, to Saturday, March 2.

Because of this, the first two free practice sessions of the season will take place on Thursday, a day that is normally dedicated to the press. The third practice session of the Grand Prix will be held on Friday, along with the first qualifying laps of the year, which will take place that same afternoon. Saturday, normally a fight for pole position, will be dedicated solely and exclusively to the first race of the year.

You can check out all the qualifying on ESPN2 (Thursday and Friday) and the race itself on ESPN (Saturday). The start time is 10 am ET and if you want to stream it, you can get it all on ESPN+, F1TV, and Fubo TV.