The 2026 Formula One calendar gets back into motion this week after a forced hiatus, with the Miami Grand Prix being billed as the effective launch of a "new championship". For the first time since the Japanese Grand Prix on March 29, all teams will be back on the circuit together, gathering at the Miami International Autodrome on Friday.
The five‑week pause was originally built into the 24‑race programme to accommodate the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian rounds, which were later cancelled. Miami now hosts the fourth race weekend of the year and the second Sprint event, but the month‑long interval that teams have enjoyed at their factories means the return will feel different from a typical early‑season sprint. Since Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli claimed the championship lead with his win at Suzuka, every outfit has had valuable time to develop their brand‑new 2026 cars, tweak software and test upgrades.
As a result, the weekend promises a fresh set of performance variables. Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur, whose squad has been Mercedes' closest challenger before the break, described the upcoming race as another start to the season.
"Everyone will bring new upgrades to Miami," Vasseur told Sky Sports Italy from Suzuka. "They've had time to work on the software, which is why I said a new championship will start." Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff echoed that sentiment, noting that his Silver Arrows have already secured three race victories and a Sprint win, but the hiatus gives rivals a chance to close the gap.
"Teams have learned, drivers are starting to learn how to optimise these systems to their benefit and we've seen that first indication in Japan that looked like a home run in the first two races but isn't the case and we've always won," Wolff said. "Miami is going to be for me also a restart.
How are the upgrades going to work that people are bringing? How have we optimised all the other systems?
It's going to be exciting." The original schedule had Bahrain slated for 12 April and Saudi Arabia for 19 April, but both events were cancelled on safety grounds due to the Middle‑East conflict. With no feasible replacements and no other races planned for April, the calendar ended up with an unscheduled five‑week gap – the longest in‑season break since the opening two rounds of the 1999 season, if summer and winter shutdowns are excluded. Unlike the regulated factory shutdowns that occur during those traditional pauses, the current lull allowed all 11 teams to keep working behind closed doors throughout April. The $215 million (£159 million) budget cap and aerodynamic testing restrictions remained in force, as did the ban on full in‑season track testing (though limited running continued on filming days and Pirelli test sessions).
Development programmes for the early‑season cars had already been mapped out before the Middle‑East races were scrapped, but the extra time in the factories undoubtedly gave engineers across the grid the chance to refine and enhance their packages for Miami and the races that follow. McLaren, for instance, has long viewed Miami as a showcase for a major upgrade – the Woking base introduced a game‑changing aerodynamic package there in 2024. Andrea Stella, McLaren's team principal, explained that the team always intended to debut a substantially new car for the North‑American events. "The calendar change helped a little, as it gave all teams more time to work on upgrades rather than being busy racing," Stella said.
"Across Miami and Canada we will see an entirely new MCL40. I expect most of our rivals to be doing the same, so the real test will be who can extract the most performance in the same time frame." With the extended break, teams that struggled early – such as Aston Martin and Williams – will be hoping to make noticeable gains. The pause also gave every outfit a chance to digest the massive amount of data generated by the complex 2026 cars over the first three weekends.
That information will shape decisions on which aerodynamic elements to prioritize and how to best manage power‑unit deployment throughout a race weekend. Drivers, too, have used the time to focus on fitness, simulator work and fine‑tuning their driving styles to the evolving packages. Meanwhile, technical directors have been in discussions with the FIA about regulatory tweaks that are set to be introduced from Miami onward. The power‑unit amendments target energy deployment, aiming to make qualifying laps feel more natural and to reduce abrupt speed differentials during races.
Because of those changes and the five‑week gap, the sole practice session on the Sprint weekend in Miami has been extended from 60 to 90 minutes, giving crews and drivers extra track time to adapt to the new parameters. Mercedes currently leads both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships, having won three of the first three race weekends. Their lead over second‑placed Ferrari stands at 45 points, while McLaren sits third, 89 points adrift, though they showed improvement with a second‑place finish at Suzuka. Red Bull, Haas and Alpine occupy the lower midfield positions.
On the drivers' side, 19‑year‑old Kimi Antonelli unexpectedly tops the standings with 72 points, followed by George Russell on 63 points. Charles Leclerc is third for Ferrari, 23 points behind Antonelli, with Lewis Hamilton fourth and Lando Norris fifth. Oscar Piastri sits sixth and Max Verstappen ninth, reflecting Red Bull's early‑season struggles. The weekend schedule includes a full slate of events: a drivers' press conference on Thursday, F2 practice and qualifying sessions, the Miami Sprint qualifying and race on Friday and Saturday, and the Grand Prix itself on Sunday, with accompanying analysis shows and podcasts.
The Miami Grand Prix will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1, and viewers can stream via NOW without a long‑term contract. In summary, the Miami round marks not just the resumption of racing after an unprecedented pause, but a genuine reset point for the 2026 season. Teams will unveil upgrades, drivers will test new software settings, and the championship hierarchy could shift dramatically as everyone seeks to capitalize on the extra development time.
The anticipation is high, and the race weekend promises to be a decisive chapter in what many are already calling a new era for Formula One.