Weather during the Australian Grand Prix: start time may change
For safety reasons, but also to ensure that drivers can take part in the race with the least possible risk of interruption, the FIA may shift the start time of the Grand Prix.

The start of the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix is scheduled for Sunday morning at 5 a.m. French time. However, be aware that the start could be delayed due to weather conditions. Bad news for European fans who planned to get up to watch the Grand Prix live: the risk of missing the start or having to wait.
Rain expected tomorrow
The #AustralianGP looks like being very unpredictable, because the current forecast is for heavy rain in the morning, which is due to weaken in the afternoon. Therefore, we could be confronted with three possible scenarios. These are the possible strategies for a dry race #F1👇 pic.twitter.com/5yvuLVfCyZ
— Pirelli Motorsport (@pirellisport) March 15, 2025
A risk of thunderstorms
If the rain has been forecasted for several days already, now the risk of thunderstorms is what concerns the race direction. In the Pirelli post, it is mentioned that the rain should decrease in the afternoon, but the amount of rain expected in the morning is significant. Furthermore, the difficulty of accurately predicting thunderstorms due to their very localized and unstable nature does not favor the organization.
The objective is, of course, to ensure the safety of the drivers while allowing them to race and avoid the scenario of the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix, where only three laps behind the safety car were possible. The schedule change had already taken place last year for the Brazilian Grand Prix.