F1 2027 calendar: Australia set to lose season opener

The Australian Grand Prix is not expected to be Round 1 of the F1 2027 season, with Bahrain set to take its place.

Melbourne has been the season-opener for the past two seasons, with Bahrain last hosting the first race in 2024.

Australian Grand Prix set to lose season opener role in F1 2027

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The early shape of the F1 2027 calendar is being formed by a combination of contractual clauses, logistical patterns, and the timing of Ramadan.

With the holy month slated to conclude on March 7, it opens the door for Bahrain to resume its place at the very start of the F1 season on March 14.

It will mark the first time Bahrain has hosted the season-opener since 2024, with the later two iterations held in Australia.

Bahrain has often been host of Round 1, a logical move following pre-season testing in the Gulf state, though Australia has kicked off the year for the past two seasons.

That arrangement has been a by-product of Ramadan.

The switch to Australia in recent years has seen F1 revert to a schedule that was the norm for much of Melbourne’s time on the calendar.

From 1995 until 2019, Albert Park hosted Round 1 on all but two occasions.

However, it has lost its default position as the starting point since the 2020 event was cancelled.

The past two seasons have been something of an exception, a combination of contractual obligation and logistical necessity.

When agreeing the most recent hosting contract, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation secured five opening round slots, two of which have been used. Three remain between 2027 and 2035.

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The established cadence of the F1 schedule would suggest that, following Bahrain on March 14, that Saudi Arabia would play host for Round 2 on March 21 before a weekend off.

Under the terms of its contract, Australia must host one of the first three events of the season, leaving it likely to emerge on April 4 to begin a three-race swing through Asia.

China would follow a week later and then Japan on April 25 before F1 heads Stateside for the Miami and Canadian Grands Prix.

Attention has turned to the 2027 calendar following confirmation that Turkey will rejoin the championship next season.

Last present in 2021, a five-year deal has been agreed which locks down all 24 available slots of the F1 schedule.

With that in place, it’s possible to forecast the calendar with some accuracy based on the schedule it has followed in recent years.

Aside from the specific event dates, precisely where Turkey and Portugal slot in are two of the bigger questions to be answered.

Portugal would fit nicely as a direct replacement for the Barcelona GP, which is absent next year.

In 2021, the last time Portimao was on the calendar, it was part of the early-European events.

A year prior, it featured in October; the later date increasing the chance of variable weather.

During its initial stint on the calendar, Turkey also filled a slot in the mid-season European leg, from May to August.

Its most recent appearances, however, have seen it much later in the year, when conditions are more mild but with a higher chance of rain.

Logistically, featuring Turkey later in the year fits well as it can be used as a stepping stone out of Europe ahead of the Azerbaijan and then Singapore Grands Prix.

Officially, the calendar remains a work in progress and unlikely to be confirmed in the immediate future; the 2026 schedule was only announced in June.

Potential F1 2027 calendar

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