2025 Australian GP: Full Weekend Schedule and Key Timings

The 2025 F1 season begins in Melbourne with high stakes, fierce battles, and early morning action—setting the tone for an intense year ahead!

The Season is Back!

After just over three months of off-season, F1 returns for a 2025 season featuring 24 races and six Sprints. The 76th season of the World Championship kicks off with the Australian Grand Prix.

For the first time since 2019, Melbourne serves as the season opener. It was supposed to hold this role in 2020, but Covid-19 had other plans, and the Austrian GP ended up launching the season in July.

Since then, Bahrain had been the opening round of the World Championship. This time, the Australian GP—scheduled at very early hours, as detailed later—marks the start of the season, meaning the first competitive weekend takes place on a circuit different from the winter testing venues.

Track Characteristics

Melbourne’s defining feature is that it is not a permanent circuit. As a result, the track is often “green” when practice begins and continues to evolve throughout the race weekend.

At this time of year, ambient temperatures can fluctuate between 35°C and 15°C from one day to the next, depending on wind direction. A northerly wind brings heat, while a southerly one means cooler conditions. This factor significantly influences cooling settings and tire management due to variations in track temperature.

Turn 9/10, once a slow chicane, was removed last year, replaced by a much faster sequence starting from Turn 6, sending drivers into Turn 11/12 at even higher speeds. Aside from this, most modifications before 2022 focused on track width adjustments.

The first two corners are fast but remain unchanged. Turn 3 presents strong overtaking opportunities. The track is quite bumpy, particularly in the braking zones leading into Turns 1 and 6, increasing the likelihood of front-wheel lock-ups.

The final sector is relatively slow compared to the rest of the circuit, but significant time can be gained there. This year, it will be slightly quicker thanks to a wider track allowing for higher apex speeds.

The car must be as precise as possible through the final two corners (15 and 16). These slow turns are key differentiators, with acceleration playing a crucial role in determining straight-line speed.

The end of the main straight is the fastest point on the circuit, exceeding 320 km/h, just before the critical braking zone into Turn 1.

Notably, this year—though the official F1 graphics have yet to be updated—there will be four DRS zones instead of three, with an additional one on the nearly straight section before Turns 11/12.

The Contenders

It is difficult to gauge the competitive order for this season opener, which promises to be tighter than ever. After Bahrain testing, four teams appear to stand out: McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull, and Mercedes.

Max Verstappen has stated that Red Bull is not targeting victory, while both Ferrari and Mercedes believe they are trailing McLaren, making the British team the early favorite in Australia. However, the competition is expected to be fierce and extremely close.

A Tight Midfield Battle

The midfield is also expected to be incredibly close. Williams impressed over the winter, Alpine showed signs of progress, and Haas kept its true potential under wraps. These three teams could battle for the position of fifth-best, with Aston Martin also in the mix.

Yuki Tsunoda was not optimistic about Racing Bulls, and it is likely that the Faenza-based team will be competing at a similar level to Sauber, at least in the early stages of the season. However, surprises cannot be ruled out, especially as Melbourne is a vastly different circuit from Bahrain, both in layout and asphalt characteristics.

Editorial Team’s Predictions

This season, we will be sharing our predictions for each Grand Prix in these preview articles. However, given the uncertainty surrounding the opening race, this section is currently labeled as ‘bets’ rather than ‘predictions,’ as establishing a clear hierarchy remains difficult.

• Clara Harrison: 1. Hamilton, 2. Leclerc, 3. Norris
• Jessica Hammond: 1. Norris, 2. Leclerc, 3. Piastri
• Lina Williams: 1. Verstappen, 2. Norris, 3. Russell
• Mauri Harper: 1. Piastri, 2. Norris, 3. Leclerc
• Annabelle Benson: 1. Piastri, 2. Norris, 3. Russell
• Jonathan Fletcher: 1. Piastri, 2. Norris, 3. Hamilton

Australian Grand Prix Schedule

With Melbourne returning as the season opener, expect some early wake-ups! Qualifying takes place at 6:00 AM on Saturday, while the race itself starts at 5:00 AM. For the most dedicated fans, FP1 and FP3 begin at 2:30 AM.

No need to worry—F1Lead will cover the sessions for you and provide full summaries!

Australian Grand Prix Schedule

Friday, March 14

Saturday, March 15

Sunday, March 16

Complete Record of the Australian Grand Prix

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