The 2025 Formula 1 season starts with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on Sunday, 16 March 2025.

Start date and opener

The official 2025 F1 calendar confirms that Australia hosts the season-opening race, with the first Grand Prix weekend running from 14–16 March at Albert Park, Melbourne. The race itself is scheduled for 16 March, marking the first time since 2019 that Melbourne opens the season.

Early season schedule

After the Australian opener, the championship heads straight to China for round two at the Shanghai International Circuit on 21–23 March 2025. Pre- season testing takes place in Bahrain across three days from 26–28 February, roughly two weeks before the lights go out in Melbourne.

Why the date shifted

The switch to an Australian season-opener is linked to calendar reshuffling around Ramadan in March 2025, which moved Bahrain and Saudi Arabia into April as rounds four and five. This change restored Melbourne’s role as the first race while keeping the record 24-race season running through to Abu Dhabi on 7 December 2025.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.