3 Key Storylines to Follow at the F1 Miami Grand Prix 2026

Formula 1 returns from its enforced break after round three at Suzuka with the first of three races in the United States, starting with the Miami Grand Prix.

The ongoing conflict engulfing the Middle East meant that the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prixes scheduled for April were both canceled, creating a long break since Japan.

With cars back on track around the Hard Rock Stadium for the second sprint weekend of the campaign, what are the stories to keep an eye on?

Oliver Bearman, Haas, Japanese GP 2026 — Haas F1 Team

Will regulation changes make a difference?

Following criticism across the opening three race weekends under the new technical regulations, tweaks have been agreed to help address complaints about qualifying and driver safety during races.

For qualifying, the FIA has adjusted energy management parameters, reducing the maximum recharge permitted from 8MJ to 7MJ, with peak recharge power - what we know as superclipping - increased from 250kW to 350kW. Those changes are aimed at reducing the duration of superclipping per lap to around two to four seconds.

Driver safety was pushed upwards on the agenda for the F1 Commission, given the scary incident involving Oliver Bearman and Franco Colapinto at the Japanese GP.

Here’s the moment Bearman went into the barriers at Spoon #F1 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/XmurXApWkp
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 29, 2026

The issue of rapid closing speeds has hopefully been remedied by the decision to cap the maximum Boost power to +150kW, "or the car's current power level at activation if higher."

MGU-K deployment will be maintained at 350kW in 'key acceleration zones' but limited to 250kW at other sections.

A new 'low-power start detection' mechanism is to be introduced, which will provide an automatic MGU-K power intervention if low acceleration is detected after clutch release off the line, hopefully mitigating the risk of an incident when the lights go out. There will also be an energy counter reset at the start of the formation lap, following issues in the opening rounds.

There will no doubt be intrigue as to how the changes will affect the product on show and whether there will be performance changes across the grid as a result, though it is unlikely that the regulations themselves will lead to major swings in the pecking order.

Will teams have used development time wisely?

Unlike during the August break, teams have not been on an enforced factory shutdown in Japan and have therefore been able to continue developing their new cars.

Silverstone vrooomms 😤#F1 || #RedBullRacing pic.twitter.com/d4O9wo8mL7
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) April 22, 2026

It means that what we saw on track in Suzuka is unlikely to be what we see in Miami, though Mercedes will still be the favorite heading into the weekend.

McLaren had given a glimpse of improvement in Japan, where Oscar Piastri was unfortunate not to win as safety car timing conspired against him and put the race firmly into Kimi Antonelli's lap, while Ferrari has consistently looked like a podium challenger this year.

But Red Bull will be the team looking for the biggest improvement out of the so-called big four, given the struggles endured by Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar so far.

A significant upgrade package was on show during a Silverstone filming day in the lead up to the Miami GP, with the RB22 expected to feature a version of Ferrari's 'macarena' rear wing. How effective this package will be can only be determined when cars hit the track on Friday.

Will the Sprint make the return more difficult?

Chinese GP 2025 — Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

With so many changes and the long break after Japan, teams would have wished for as much track time as possible when rocking up to Miami.

But the sprint weekend format means that there will be just the one practice session before sprint qualifying kicks off the competitive action late on Friday.

A contingency plan to assist teams has increased practice to 90 minutes, an extra half an hour beyond the standard session length. But that is still 90 minutes less practice time than drivers and teams would be running during a regular weekend.

So for sprint Saturday especially, it is likely that the running order could be shaken up somewhat compared to the first three races.

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