Formula 1 races could start 70 minutes later than they traditionally have, with new owners Liberty Media looking at bringing in a 15:10 start time for the majority of races in 2018.
Currently the bulk of the races on the calendar start at 14:00 local time, but Liberty believes pushing that back an hour could boost television audiences, whilst an additional 10-minute delay could be added to appease commercial broadcasters.
Such a move is likely to prove particularly beneficial in the United States, where advert breaks are more common, and could allow for an extended race build-up.
The change would also mean European races are broadcast at a more favourable time in the US – currently they start at 08:00 on the East coast and 05:00 on the West coast, which would shift to 09:10 and 06:10 respectively under these plans.
Races run at dusk/night, such as Bahrain, Singapore and Abu Dhabi are expected to retain their current schedules.
The proposal has already been presented to broadcasters and discussed with the teams, with a final decision expected in the coming weeks.
The shift could also apply to the entire race weekend, with practice sessions and qualifying starting an hour later too; the tweaks could also have an influence on support acts Formula 2 and GP3, with their respective formats having been altered through 2017.
Note: Races traditionally start at 13:00 UK time due to British Summer Time (BST), therefore the proposed start time for the UK would be 14:10.
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