How a scheduling change dealt Formula One teams a major Melbourne headache

The Australian Grand Prix‘s return to its traditional spot as F1 season-opener has left teams with a headache, but it’s a win for fans.

The seemingly innocuous tweak to the calendar has loaded extra importance on the three-day test in Bahrain, which begins on Wednesday night.

Bahrain has hosted a pre-season test for years, but since 2021, has also hosted the season-opening grand prix a week later.

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This allowed teams at the conclusion of the test to remain set up in pit lane to continue working and fine tuning the cars, even if they’re not allowed to turn a lap.

But this year, they will be forced to pack everything up and fly to the other side of the world to Melbourne.

“It’s perhaps a bit more tricky than when you just test and race immediately the week after”, RB team principal Laurent Mekies said.

It means there will be greater emphasis on track running to give teams a direct comparison from one change to another. Any new parts will need to be designed, built, dispatched, fitted and tested in record time, because once the cars are bundled into their air containers and flown Down Under, they won’t be in one piece until the hours before practice gets underway on the Friday morning in Albert Park.

That’s a win for fans, because there will be more cars on track for longer. Logging meaningful laps will be crucial, because there will be no surefire way of knowing if any new parts have actually delivered an increase in performance until the circus returns to Bahrain after Easter.

Should a team run into reliability problems and lose track time, it will hurt much more than normal.

The massive regulation overhaul coming in 2026 will also mean development of cars will be mostly restricted to the first half of the year, particularly for the smaller teams. Testing form will give a greater indication of season-long potential.

If they arrive in Bahrain with a quick car, they will be more likely to hold their place on the grid, because the teams who miss the mark and find themselves off the pace might elect to sacrifice the rest of 2025 to put all their focus on next year.

But while 2026 will be all-new, the stability from last year means an overhaul to this year’s pecking order is unlikely, so expect to see the same contenders dominating.

McLaren will go into the season as favourites to win at least one, if not both the drivers’ and constructors’ titles.

Lando Norris was stronger than Oscar Piastri for much of last season, but the young Aussie’s development at the back-end of the year shows he’s as big a chance as anyone to win the title.

And there is a new Aussie flavour on the grid, with Jack Doohan to hit the track for Alpine ahead of his first season as a full-time driver.

Doohan wont have any time to settle in before delivering results. The tricky financial situation the Alpine team is in gives it little time to wait for a driver to get up to speed. In fact, there are reports Doohan has just five races to deliver results or be brutally sacked, replaced by Franco Colapinto. The Argentinian has heavy financial backing from investors in his home country. Doohan does not.

Ferrari fans will also get their first proper look at Lewis Hamilton in red. The Scuderia showed an uptick in performance at the back-end of 2024, and given the stability in the regulations, Hamilton’s 2025 challenger could see him fighting for wins more regularly.

Max Verstappen has a new teammate in Kiwi Liam Lawson. His arrival could quickly give fans an explanation of Sergio Perez’ struggles – was it the car or the driver?

There will be little go gain from reading into outright lap times, but consistency in race simulations, how settled a car looks, and each driver’s feedback will be where the real stories lie.

Each day’s running will be split into a morning and afternoon session, with running to begin daily at 5.50pm AEDT.