In 2024 there will be a new season opener for that new season.
At the moment there is the World Cup in Qatar. Ever since the senile gnome from Visp (Sepp Blatter, not Bernie), the whole world has been talking about one thing: human rights violations. The only person who can stop discussion is Louis van Gaal, the one with classical Dutch 1-5-3-2 football managed to reach the eighth finals and almost the quarter finals.
In motorsport we are a little easier with that. Dubious sponsors, races at questionable locations: it’s all part of it. But the United Emirates of the Middle East sandbox is starting to dominate the sport more and more.
New season opener 2024
First there was the GP of Bahrain, which came in 2004. We could understand that. Then in 2009 the Abu Dhabi GP was added. That has been the season finale since then. The Saudi Arabian GP has been on the calendar since last year and the Qatar GP will return in 2023 for at least 10 years. It has also been established that the Abu Dhabi GP will be the season finale for the next 10 years.
But it gets even worse. Because it has just been announced that the GP of Saudi Arabia will be the season opener. At the moment they are still racing in Jeddah (on the Jeddah Corniche Circuit), but they are working on a new track in Qiddiyah. The 2024 Saudi Arabian GP will be the first race of the season. Saudi Arabia thus replaces the atmospheric Australia.
That race has not been the opener of the season since covid-19 due to corona and various logistical reasons. Will Australia return as the season opener? According to the Australian government, they have published that the contract to open the season has recently been extended by two years until 2037.
Religious reasons
The reason to leave Saudi Arabia in 2024 is a religious one. Then they have the race before Ramadan starts. It will start in 2024 on March 10 and they would prefer to keep the race for that. Apparently the organizers of the Australian GP have agreed to this.
The Australian GP has been the season opener since 1996 and has been until 2005. In 2006 it was Bahrain (Australia was the third race at the time). From 2007 to 2009 it was Australia again, in 2010 it was Bahrain again. After that the gentlemen drove the first race of the season at Melbourne. In 2020 it was Austria, in 2021 and 2022 again Bahrain. Speaking of Bahrain, the pre-season test sessions will also take place there. So if you miss the Middle East after the World Cup, you can enjoy Formula 1!
Through: Motorsport
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