The 2024 Formula 1 season gets underway this week in the Middle East with the Bahrain Grand Prix. The drivers were at the Bahrain International Circuit last week for preseason testing and will kick off the season with the first race on Saturday.
The Bahrain Grand Prix features a different schedule than most race weeks. In fact, the first two weeks of the season will be different than the rest of the season. The Bahrain GP and next week’s Saudi Arabian GP will both run their events Thursday through Saturday rather than Friday through Sunday.
The schedule change these first two weeks comes due to the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. It starts on March 10 and runs through April 9. The Saudi Arabian GP would normally run on the 10th, but due to the start of Ramadan, the race was moved to the 9th and practice and qualifying were all bumped up a day. Although the Bahrain GP is scheduled a week before Ramadan, FIA regulations require a week between races, which is why this race weekend was moved up a day.
ESPN remains the broadcasting network of all things F1. ESPN2 will broadcast practice on Thursday and Friday, and then qualifying later Friday morning. ESPN will then broadcast the first race of the season on Saturday. A live stream for practice and qualifying will be available at WatchESPN, while a race live stream will also be available on ESPN+. If you don’t have an ESPN subscription to access WatchESPN, you can get a trial from YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV, AT&T TV Now, FuboTV, or Sling TV.
Defending race and drivers’ championship winner Max Verstappen arrives at Sakhir in Bahrain as the heavy favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook. He’s installed at -360, and is followed by Charles Leclerc at +1000, Sergio Pérez and Lewis Hamilton at +1400, Carlos Sainz at +1600, and Lando Norris and George Russell at +2500.
Here’s the complete schedule for this weekend. All times below are ET.
Bahrain Grand Prix weekend schedule
Thursday, February 29
6:30 a.m. — Practice 1 — ESPN2, WatchESPN
10 a.m. — Practice 2 — ESPN2, WatchESPN
Friday, March 1
7:30 a.m. — Practice 3 — ESPN2, WatchESPN
11 a.m. — Qualifying— ESPN2, WatchESPN
Saturday, March 2
10 a.m. — Bahrain Grand Prix race — ESPN, WatchESPN