Formula One returns after a hiatus of more than a month, kicking off the 2026 campaign with a Sprint-format weekend in Miami. The South‑Florida venue will host the second Sprint event of the season, offering fans a compact but action‑packed schedule that begins with an extended practice session on Friday and culminates in the Grand Prix on Sunday. At the top of the Drivers' Championship, Kimi Antonelli has built a comfortable lead, having secured back‑to‑back victories in China and Japan. His nine‑point advantage over his Mercedes teammate George Russell puts him in a strong position, but the points gap is slim enough that a single misstep in Miami could reshuffle the order.
Mercedes, which has dominated the opening three races, may find its advantage tested after a five‑week break that has allowed every team to develop and install new upgrades. The regulatory tweaks introduced for 2026 also mean that performance differentials could narrow, making the Miami street circuit a potential equaliser.
Ferrari and McLaren will be eager to demonstrate that they have closed the gap to the Silver Arrows. Lando Norris, returning to the track where he celebrated his maiden Grand Prix win in 2024, will be looking to extract maximum performance from his McLaren.
Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri’s near‑miss in Japan—where a poorly timed safety‑car deployment robbed him of a chance to halt Mercedes’ winning streak—will fuel his determination to challenge the front‑runners in Miami. The Ferraris, which have shown strong early‑season pace, are expected to fight for the top spots, giving Charles Leclerc and even Lewis Hamilton a renewed opportunity to climb onto the podium. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen currently sits ninth in the standings, a surprising drop given his dominance in recent years.
Verstappen has publicly hinted at uncertainty about his future in the sport, raising questions about how he views the upcoming changes to power‑unit regulations and whether his earlier statements about quitting were genuine. His performance in Miami will be closely watched, both as a barometer of his form and as an indicator of how the new engine rules may affect the Red Bull package. Because the weekend follows a Sprint format, the schedule is condensed. There is only one practice session on Friday, but the usual one‑hour slot has been lengthened to ninety minutes to compensate for the lack of a second free‑practice.
The session starts at 17:00 GMT and will be the final opportunity for teams to fine‑tune their setups before the Sprint Qualifying later that evening. After the qualifying shoot‑out, the Sprint race will take place on Saturday, determining the grid for the main Grand Prix on Sunday. Miami entered the F1 calendar in 2022, and its layout is renowned for providing multiple overtaking opportunities. Long straights feed into heavy‑braking zones at Turn 11 and the tight hairpin at Turn 17, where drivers can attempt daring passes.
As a street circuit, the walls sit close to the track, meaning any mistake is quickly punished. The key to speed here is precision—drivers must run as close to the barriers as possible without losing control. Weather forecasts predict a dry, hot weekend with temperatures hovering around 28 °C (about 82 °F) throughout Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The warm, stable conditions should allow teams to focus on aerodynamic and tyre strategies rather than coping with rain‑induced chaos. The official programme for the weekend is as follows: - Thursday, 30 April – 19:00 GMT: Drivers' press conference; 22:00 GMT: Paddock Uncut - Friday, 1 May – 14:15 GMT: F2 practice; 16:30 GMT: Miami GP Practice One (starts at 17:00 GMT); 19:15 GMT: F2 qualifying; 20:10 GMT: Team bosses' press conference; 20:40 GMT: Miami GP Sprint Qualifying (starts at 21:30 GMT) - Saturday, 2 May – 14:55 GMT: F2 Sprint; 16:00 GMT: Miami GP Sprint build‑up; 17:00 GMT: Miami GP Sprint; 18:30 GMT: Ted’s Sprint Notebook; 20:00 GMT: Qualifying build‑up; 21:00 GMT: Miami GP Qualifying; 23:00 GMT: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook - Sunday, 3 May – 17:25 GMT: F2 feature race; 19:00 GMT: Miami GP build‑up; 21:00 GMT: Miami Grand Prix; 23:00 GMT: Post‑race reaction; 00:00 GMT (Monday): Ted’s Notebook All of the highlighted sessions marked with an asterisk will also be broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event. Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the entire weekend on Sky Sports F1, starting with the Friday practice and concluding with the Grand Prix on Sunday at 21:00 GMT. The coverage is also available via the Sky Sports app, which offers an interactive experience that lets fans follow any driver’s onboard feed.
For those without a Sky subscription, the NOW streaming service provides flexible, contract‑free access—either on a day‑pass or a monthly basis—across more than 60 devices. NOW subscribers can watch all twelve Sky Sports channels, including the dedicated Sky Sports+ streams, and can cancel at any time. In addition to live television, Sky Sports runs a real‑time blog that provides minute‑by‑minute updates for fans on the move. Highlights are posted shortly after the chequered flag, allowing viewers to catch up on key moments they may have missed.
Sky customers also receive support for managing their Sky ID, which is required to access the service. Overall, the Miami Sprint weekend promises a blend of high‑speed drama, strategic intrigue, and the chance for drivers outside the usual front‑row to make a statement.
With the championship still in its infancy and several teams poised to unveil upgrades, the race could be a pivotal moment in the 2026 season, shaping the battle for titles in both the drivers' and constructors' championships.