The Miami race followed a five-week hiatus after the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix due to ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Before the weekend, Mercedes had been unbeaten, with Kimi Antonelli leading teammate George Russell by nine points in the drivers’ standings, according to multiple media reports. According to team sources, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, mired in ninth place, hoped new upgrades would resolve persistent car issues, while Ferrari and McLaren also introduced developments to close the gap to the front.
Formula 1 introduced regulation changes for Miami, raising the super clipping limit from 250 to 350 kW for qualifying and extending the sole practice session by 30 minutes, according to paddock reports. According to paddock reports, the revisions aimed to reduce energy management and encourage flat-out driving, but Max Verstappen was unimpressed. According to the Daily Express, the Red Bull driver compared the rules to ‘Mario Kart’ and suggested he could leave the sport if changes did not materialize.
In qualifying, Antonelli secured pole position, with Verstappen nearly two-tenths of a second slower. Lando Norris took fourth place.
The sprint race on Saturday saw Norris dominate from pole, winning ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in third, according to multiple reports. According to race statistics, Mercedes failed to place a driver in the top three for the first time this season.
Red Bull arrived with a significant upgrade package, including a new floor and a ‘Macarena’ rear wing, according to team sources. However, according to stewards’ documents, Red Bull junior Isack Hadjar faced legal trouble after being summoned for an alleged technical infringement. The FIA reported that his car’s floorboard was found protruding 2mm beyond the reference volume, breaching Article C3.5.5, potentially leading to disqualification.
Support race schedules were also reshuffled: the Formula 2 feature race moved to 9:25 a.m., the McLaren Trophy event to 8 a.m., and the Porsche Carrera Cup was cancelled, according to race organizers. These late changes created logistical hurdles for broadcasters, spectator access, and international transmission, analysts noted.
According to The Independent, Lando Norris expressed confidence that McLaren can have a strong season and are pushing for the championship despite not starting where they wanted. Speaking after his sprint win, Norris told the Daily Mirror that the car is now significantly more consistent and predictable. According to team representatives, Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc both voiced optimism about the team’s chassis, indicating a step forward in performance.
With thunderstorms forecast, drivers voiced concerns about tackling wet conditions in the relatively untested 2026 cars. According to the BBC, Lando Norris warned drivers would be ‘thrown in at the deep end’ and that the weather ‘threatens a bit more chaos’ due to the cars’ unpredictability. His teammate Oscar Piastri, speaking to the BBC, called the prospect ‘a voyage into the unknown for everybody.’ The majority of the grid has little to no wet running in the new generation of cars, which feature powerful electrical engines that teams have struggled to deploy predictably, according to paddock research.
In a separate interview, Norris told The Independent that he still enjoys driving older cars more than the current ones, though he acknowledged it is a driver’s job to adapt. That adaptability proved elusive for Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, who told the Daily Mirror he struggled to come to terms with the new car configuration during qualifying.
The Miami event attracted a galaxy of celebrities, including Lionel Messi, Rafael Nadal, Jimmy Fallon, and DJ Khaled, according to event reports. The grid walk produced a memorable moment when television commentator Martin Brundle’s interview with Fallon ended with the entertainer chewing the microphone sock, multiple outlets reported.
US local laws mandate the suspension of outdoor events when lightning is detected within a specified radius, typically eight miles, requiring spectator evacuation and shelter-in-place procedures. The FIA had developed protocols for such scenarios, including red flag procedures that allow teams to work on cars inside garages during a suspension, with a maximum total race duration of three hours. A joint statement from F1, the FIA, and the Miami promoter confirmed the start time shift was for safety and to ensure maximum window to complete the race. Any weather-related interruption could significantly impact race strategy, tire allocation, and the championship fight, analysts observed.
The decision to move the race reflected extensive collaboration between race control, local meteorological services, and circuit safety officials, a standard process in Formula 1’s weather risk management, racing analysts said.
Off the track, McLaren announced a new venture into the golf equipment market, partnering with golfer Justin Rose and featuring Norris in promotional activities, according to corporate reports.
As the paddock packed up, several questions remained unanswered. The stewards had yet to announce a verdict on Hadjar’s technical infringement, leaving his race result provisional. Detailed race results beyond the top two finishers were not immediately available, leaving the full championship picture incomplete. While the race was completed before major storms hit, it was unclear how the regulation changes affected energy management and the quality of racing, with driver reactions still to be fully gathered. The effectiveness of the new rules and the true impact of the upgrades would only become clear in the coming races.