F1 respects Ramadan: Plans to alter race timings to accommodate Islamic rituals in 2024 in discussion
The Formula 1 authorities are reportedly contemplating changing the timings for the two races in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
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The 2023 Formula 1 is already eight races old, and talks have started emerging about the FIA’s plans for next year. While the original plan was for the current season to be the longest in F1 history with 24 races, the Chinese GP was cancelled due to their stringent COVID-19 protocols.
For the next year, one might expect some new races to debut on the calendar, and some reports even claim that a massive change in the timings of a few selected races will also be something to keep an eye out for. Among all the multiple international locations where the F1 circus travels every year, the Saudi Arabian GP and the Bahrain GP take place in two Islamic countries. The local authorities have reportedly moved the FIA to fix the dates for the two Grands Prix on Saturdays instead of the usual Sunday races.
The change in the timings would be because of Ramadan, a period of devotion for the Muslims that starts from March 10 next year. During this time, F1 racing in Saudi Arabia is not permitted, and thus they might shift the Grand Prix to March 9.
Shifting the Saudi Arabian GP and Bahrain GP would also help F1 conform to Islamic rules
To ensure all the races take place in time and the teams get enough of a chance to move to the new location within a week, the Bahrain GP, which will take place a week before the Saudi Arabia race, will also be shifted to March 2, according to the reports. It has also been pointed out that the Islamic world follows a different calendar in which Fridays and Saturdays comprise the weekend while Sundays are a working day for them. Regarding this, the F1 social media have argued that improvising the race timings to conform to the host country’s rules will take Formula 1 a step further towards inclusivity.
In other news, the 2024 F1 grid might see Mick Schumacher make a return after he was released from Haas at the end of last year due to poor results. For the current season, the scion of Germany’s biggest racing family is employed under Mercedes as their third and test driver. Both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have already thanked his contributions towards Mercedes’ huge improvement that resulted in them getting back to back podiums in Spain and Canada. It is a great possibility that Schumacher will replace Logan Sargeant at Williams next year.
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Riddhi Mondal
(1821 Articles Published)