Information on the provisional calendar for the 2016 Formula One season has been released and the first race of the season, the Australian Grand Prix, will be held on April 3, 2016 – the latest start to an F1 season since 1988. Although no official reason has yet been provided by Formula One as to the reasoning behind the late start, the general consensus is it is being done to condense the racing calendar and prevent lengthy gaps such as the current three week gap between the Bahrain and Spanish Grand Prix as well as potentially reduce costs and generate fan interest with fewer gaps between races.
In addition to the Australian Grand Prix opening the season later in 2016, the Chinese Grand Prix will directly follow on April 10 and the new Baku Grand Prix will be slated for a July 2016 date.
The 2015 Formula One season continues with the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona at 5 a.m. [PDT] on NBCSN on May 10, 2015.