Leadership of Formula 1 has announced the change of the Grand Prix weekend so that most European races will start at 15:10 instead of the usual 14 hours.
Liberty Media has decided to change the race schedule to attract a larger audience, a few days after they decided to discontinue the multi-year tradition of grid girls at the start.
The races will start 10 minutes behind the full clock to make the events before the race fit better in the schedule.
“Some broadcasters usually go on a full hour, leaving the tension and feeling that characterizes the minute before the start of each race,” the statement said.
“Thanks to this change, TV viewers will be closer to teams and drivers to fully enjoy the spectacle before turning off the lights.”
French GP, which will be held on Paul Ricard for the first time since 1990, scheduled for June 24, starts at 16:10 local time to avoid overlapping with the World Cup game of England vs Panama.
2018 F1 SCHEDULE
| Race | FP1 | FP2 | FP3 | Qualifying | Race |
| Australian Grand Prix | 12:00-13:30 | 16:00-17:30 | 14:00-15:00 | 17:00-18:00 | 16:10 |
| Bahrain Grand Prix | 14:00-15:30 | 18:00-19:30 | 15:00-16:00 | 18:00-19:00 | 18:10 |
| Chinese Grand Prix | 10:00-11:30 | 14:00-15:30 | 11:00-12:00 | 14:00-15:00 | 14:10 |
| Azerbaijan Grand Prix | 13:00-14:30 | 17:00-18:30 | 14:00-15:00 | 17:00-18:00 | 16:10 |
| Spanish Grand Prix | 11:00-12:30 | 15:00-16:30 | 12:00-13:00 | 15:00-16:00 | 15:10 |
| Monaco Grand Prix* | 11:00-12:30 | 15:00-16:30 | 12:00-13:00 | 15:00-16:00 | 15:10 |
| Canadian Grand Prix | 10:00-11:30 | 14:00-15:30 | 11:00-12:00 | 14:00-15:00 | 14:10 |
| French Grand Prix | 12:00-13:30 | 16:00-17:30 | 13:00-14:00 | 16:00-17:00 | 16:10 |
| Austrian Grand Prix | 11:00-12:30 | 15:00-16:30 | 12:00-13:00 | 15:00-16:00 | 15:10 |
| British Grand Prix | 10:00-11:30 | 14:00-15:30 | 11:00-12:00 | 14:00-15:00 | 14:10 |
| German Grand Prix | 11:00-12:30 | 15:00-16:30 | 12:00-13:00 | 15:00-16:00 | 15:10 |
| Hungarian Grand Prix | 11:00-12:30 | 15:00-16:30 | 12:00-13:00 | 15:00-16:00 | 15:10 |
| Belgian Grand Prix | 11:00-12:30 | 15:00-16:30 | 12:00-13:00 | 15:00-16:00 | 15:10 |
| Italian Grand Prix | 11:00-12:30 | 15:00-16:30 | 12:00-13:00 | 15:00-16:00 | 15:10 |
| Singapore Grand Prix | 16:30-18:00 | 20:30-22:00 | 18:00-19:00 | 21:00-22:00 | 20:10 |
| Russian Grand Prix | 11:00-12:30 | 15:00-16:30 | 12:00-13:00 | 15:00-16:00 | 14:10 |
| Japanese Grand Prix | 10:00-11:30 | 14:00-15:30 | 12:00-13:00 | 15:00-16:00 | 14:10 |
| United States Grand Prix | 10:00-11:30 | 14:00-15:30 | 13:00-14:00 | 16:00-17:00 | 13:10 |
| Mexican Grand Prix | 10:00-11:30 | 14:00-15:30 | 10:00-11:00 | 13:00-14:00 | 13:10 |
| Brazilian Grand Prix | 11:00-12:30 | 15:00-16:30 | 12:00-13:00 | 15:00-16:00 | 15:10 |
| Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | 13:00-14:30 | 17:00-18:30 | 14:00-15:00 | 17:00-18:00 | 17:10 |
*FP1, FP2 on Thursday
