F1 Schedule: Bahrain Set to Open 2027 Over Melbourne

The f1 schedule for 2027 is set to start in Bahrain, with the Australian Grand Prix not expected to hold Round 1. Melbourne has opened the season for the past two seasons, but that run is likely to end as contractual clauses, logistics and Ramadan reshape the front of the calendar.

Bahrain and Melbourne

Bahrain last hosted the first race in 2024 and could do so again on March 14, after the holy month is slated to conclude on March 7. That would make it the first time Bahrain has opened the championship since 2024, while Albert Park drops out of the season-opener slot.

Melbourne’s recent place at the front of the grid was an exception built on contract terms and travel demands. The Australian Grand Prix Corporation secured four opening round slots in its most recent hosting contract, and two of those four have already been used.

Albert Park’s contract window

Australia still has two opening round slots left between 2027 and 2035, but the contract only requires one of the first three events of the season. That leaves room for the Australian Grand Prix to stay prominent without leading the championship, even after its two-year opening stretch.

From 1995 until 2019, Albert Park hosted Round 1 on all but two occasions, before the 2020 event was cancelled. The recent run at the front of the schedule had already been described as a combination of contractual obligation and logistical necessity rather than a permanent reset.

Asia swing after April 4

Australia is likely to surface on April 4 to begin a three-race swing through Asia, with China following a week later and Japan next on April 25. That sequence would push the first three races away from Melbourne and back toward Bahrain at the start of the season, then send the calendar through Asia before the series heads to the United States for Miami and the Canadian Grand Prix.

For fans tracking the opening weeks, the practical change is simple: Bahrain would set the pace for F1 2027, and Australia would wait until the calendar reaches its Asia run.