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 Melbourne's Albert Park street circuit has usually hosted the opener
in March, though it was pushed back to April in 2006 to become the
third round on the calendar when Melbourne hosted the Commonwealth
Games that year.
"The 2016 Formula One Australian Grand Prix event dates are 31
March–3 April, 2016, with the later start date set to condense the
season, which finishes in November," local organisers said on
Tuesday.
The 1988 season also started on April 3, in Brazil.
Media have speculated that Formula One Management is aiming to
reduce costs for teams and shorten the downtime between races in a
bid to maximise interest in the championship.
Pundits have also suggested a condensed season could be a bargaining
chip for FOM to pack in more races into the calendar, with
Azerbaijan scheduled to make its debut next year on what could be a
20 round championship.
The later date at Albert Park will also mean an earlier start for
the race, given it falls after the end of daylight savings in the
state of Victoria when clocks are switched back an hour.
The AGPC was unable to provide further comment but confirmed the
move was a directive from FOM.
"It's fantastic that Melbourne will again play host to the opening
round," said Australian Grand Prix Corporation chief executive
Andrew Westacott.
"Over the past 20 years Melbourne has become synonymous with the
start of a new Formula One season, and we look forward to again
welcoming all the teams and drivers to our great city in 2016,"
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A later start to the season in Australia could also see Bahrain, the
fourth race of 2015, move up the order next year even if it will be
hard to accommodate an earlier date.
Bahrain has never been later than April 26 on the calendar since the
race made its debut in 2004 and local organisers said at this year's
April 19 grand prix that they were hoping for an earlier slot.
"Maybe the end of April when it gets pretty hot isn't the time, so a
few weeks here and there would help if we could change that," Sheikh
Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa told Reuters then.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom/Alan Baldwin; Editing by Peter Rutherford
and Justin Palmer)
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