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Formula 1: 2019 Australian Grand Prix date revealed

By Asher Fair

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 25: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes WO9 leads Kimi Raikkonen of Finland driving the (7) Scuderia Ferrari SF71H , Sebastian Vettel of Germany driving the (5) Scuderia Ferrari SF71H (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 25: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes WO9 leads Kimi Raikkonen of Finland driving the (7) Scuderia Ferrari SF71H , Sebastian Vettel of Germany driving the (5) Scuderia Ferrari SF71H (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) /
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The date for the 2019 Formula 1 season opener, the Australian Grand Prix, has been revealed, and it is earlier than it has been in the last two seasons.

The Australian Grand Prix at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, a temporary street circuit in Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia, is set to return to the Formula 1 schedule in the 2019 season, but it is set to take place earlier than it has in each of the last two seasons.

This season, the Australian Grand Prix took place on the final Sunday in March, which was March 25. It also took place on the last Sunday in March, March 26, last season. Prior to last year, the race had not take place on the final Sunday in March since it took place on March 27, 2011.

From the 2012 season through the 2016 season, the race around the 16-turn, 3.296-mile (5.303-kilometer) street circuit took place on the third Sunday in March. Next season, it is set to return to that date.

The Australian Grand Prix is set to open up the 2019 Formula 1 season, which it has done in 21 of the 23 Formula 1 seasons since it was added to the schedule back in 1996, and it is scheduled to do so on Sunday, March 17. The race weekend is scheduled to last from Thursday, March 14 until then.

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The only two seasons thus far during which the Australian Grand Prix did not serve as the season opener were the 2006 season and the 2010 season. That race was the third and second race, respectively, on the schedules in those two seasons.

As a result of the fact that the 2019 Australian Grand Prix is scheduled to be held on the third Sunday in March as opposed to the final Sunday in March like it was this season and last season, the offseason from the 2018 season to the 2019 season is scheduled to be one week shorter than the offseason from the 2017 season to the 2018 season was since the 2018 season finale, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, is scheduled to take place on the final Sunday in November like last year’s was.

Here is what Australian Grand Prix Corporation CEO Andrew Westacott had to say about the change to the Australian Grand Prix date, according to Autosport.

"“To announce the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix 2019 date more than eight months out from the event is fantastic news and we hope this will encourage overseas and interstate visitors to plan for a lengthy visit to Melbourne and Victoria. We are immensely proud of the four-day spectacle Melbourne puts on and honoured to raise the curtain on one of the world’s most prestigious annual championships.”"

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Are you looking forward to the 2019 Formula 1 season starting one week earlier than the 2017 and 2018 seasons did as a result of the fact that the Australian Grand Prix has been moved up by one week? The entire 2019 schedule should be released in the near future now that nine of the 21 races on this season’s schedule have been completed.

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