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F1 reverts to on-the-hour start times for 2021, while Friday Practice time cut

Changes to the F1 schedule confirmed for the 2021 season with races to again start at the top of the hour and Friday's two practice sessions reduced from 90 to 60 minutes apiece; first race in Bahrain on March 28 will start at 4pm in UK

By James Galloway

Last Updated: 29/01/21 12:34pm

Formula 1 races will revert to starting at the top of the hour in the 2021 season, the sport has formally confirmed, while Friday practice track time has been cut by an hour.

Grands Prix had started 10 minutes past the hour since 2018 but that change has now been reversed for the new season.

Meanwhile, Friday's two practice sessions will now each run to an hour in length instead of the traditional 90 minutes.

Most European races will start at 3pm local time, which is 2pm for UK viewers on Sky Sports F1 (the British GP will start at 3pm local).

When do the F1 races start in 2021?

Date Grand Prix UK race start
March 28 Bahrain GP 4pm
April 18 Emilia-Romagna GP 2pm
May 2 TBC TBC
May 9 Spanish GP 2pm
May 23 Monaco GP 2pm
June 6 Azerbaijan GP 1pm
June 13 Canadian GP 7pm
June 27 French GP 2pm
July 4 Austrian GP 2pm
July 18 British GP 3pm
August 1 Hungarian GP 2pm
August 29 Belgian GP 2pm
September 5 Dutch GP 2pm
September 12 Italian GP 2pm
September 26 Russian GP 1pm
October 3 Singapore GP 1pm
October 10 Japanese GP 6am
October 24 United States GP 8pm
October 31 Mexican GP 7pm
November 7 Brazilian GP 5pm
November 21 Australian GP 6am
December 5 Saudi Arabia GP 4pm
December 12 Abu Dhabi GP 1pm

F1 is planning for a 23-round season but the third event, which was originally meant to be China, remains unconfirmed. Portugal's Portimao circuit is considered the front-runner after making its debut on the much-changed 2020 schedule last autumn.

Bahrain opens the 2021 campaign on March 28, with their event to run in the evening under floodlights as usual. The season-opener will start at 4pm UK time.

Less practice time, but more condensed action?

F1 had held two 90-minute practice sessions on a Friday since 2007 but there have been consistent calls in recent years to reduce running time ahead of qualifying, to both ensure busier sessions when cars are on track and increase chances of unpredictability later in the weekend.

With limited tyre allocations and penalty-free engine parts, teams chose not to use significant amounts of Friday's 180 minutes of track time with their cars.

Also See:

  • The 2021 Formula 1 calendar revealed
  • The Formula 1 Gossip Column

Following Friday's announcement, Sky F1 commentator David Croft tweeted: "A welcome move & one that I hope eliminates the often long periods of track inactivity. It shouldn't result in less laps completed."

Practice, qualifying & race start times for F1 in 2021. For those, like me, who like to organise their year :)))
FP1 & FP2 are now 1 hour for each. A welcome move & one that I hope eliminates the often long periods of track inactivity. It shouldn’t result in less laps completed pic.twitter.com/cvMTmjhPJh

— David Croft (@CroftyF1) January 29, 2021

Practice Three on a Saturday will continue to run to 60 minutes.

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