The Australian Grand Prix has retained its place as the season-opening event for the 2019 Formula 1 World Championship season, after the FIA World Motor Sport Council ratified Liberty Media’s proposed schedule for next year.
The 58-lap race at Melbourne’s Albert Park circuit is scheduled to take place between March 15-17, with Australian Grand Prix Corporation CEO Andrew Westacott delighted to have the dates of the event now locked in.
“We look forward to welcoming visitors from all over Australia and around the globe to Melbourne as we continue to enhance the fan experience each year,” he said.
“The Formula One Australian Grand Prix is a benchmark for international events in Australia and has evolved to become a must-do four-day festival, attracting fans from around the world to soak up world-class racing along with premium hospitality, entertainment and cutting-edge technology and innovation.”
Next year’s race will see a change of teams for local hero Daniel Ricciardo, who will compete under the colours of the works Renault team after spending the past five seasons with Red Bull Racing. The Australian, a seven-time Grand Prix winner, is yet to claim a podium finishy on home soil.
The Australian Grand Prix weekend will also see the continuation of the highly successful Melbourne 400 round of the Supercars Championship, with the touring car series having its first run as a points-paying event towards its overall standings last year.
Compared to 2018, the 2019 schedule features a number of tweaks with the most notable being the switch in the running order of the United States and Mexican Grands Prix (the latter will occur before the former next year), as well as the removal of the much-criticised ‘triple header’ sequence in the mid-season where the French, Austrian and British Grands Prix that ran over consecutive weekends.
The number of back-to-back events has also reduced from five pairs of Grands Prix to four next year, which means the season will effectively extend by two weeks and run until December 1 for the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix which will celebrate its tenth anniversary event.
2019 FIA Formula 1 World Championship Season Calendar | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date | Event | Location | |
17 MAR | ![]() |
Australian Grand Prix | Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne |
31 MAR | ![]() |
Bahrain Grand Prix | Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir |
14 APR | ![]() |
Chinese Grand Prix | Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai |
28 APR | ![]() |
Azerbaijan Grand Prix | Baku City Circuit, Baku |
12 MAY | ![]() |
Spanish Grand Prix | Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona |
26 MAY | ![]() |
Monaco Grand Prix | Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo |
09 JUN | ![]() |
Canadian Grand Prix | Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal |
23 JUN | ![]() |
French Grand Prix | Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet |
30 JUN | ![]() |
Austrian Grand Prix | Red Bull Ring, Spielberg |
14 JUL | ![]() |
British Grand Prix | Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone |
28 JUL | ![]() |
German Grand Prix | Hockenheimring, Hockenheim |
04 AUG | ![]() |
Hungarian Grand Prix | Hungaroring, Budapest |
01 SEP | ![]() |
Belgian Grand Prix | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot |
08 SEP | ![]() |
Italian Grand Prix | Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Milan |
22 SEP | ![]() |
Singapore Grand Prix | Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore |
29 SEP | ![]() |
Russian Grand Prix | Sochi Autodrom, Sochi |
13 OCT | ![]() |
Japanese Grand Prix | Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka |
27 OCT | ![]() |
Mexican Grand Prix | Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico |
03 NOV | ![]() |
United States Grand Prix | Circuit of the Americas, United States* |
17 NOV | ![]() |
Brazilian Grand Prix | Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo |
01 DEC | ![]() |
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi |
Image via Ignite Image
Luke McCullough
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