Ferrari are poised to be among the squads likely to make a "significant leap" in performance at the upcoming Miami Grand Prix, as they aim to narrow the gap to Mercedes in what promises to remain a "wide‑open" 2026 season at the front of the grid, according to Sky Sports F1 analyst Martin Brundle. Brundle points out that the sport's return to the United States after the enforced April hiatus will feel like a "relaunch of the championship". The break gave every team extra time to develop their radically altered cars, with the hope that many will arrive in Miami noticeably faster and potentially reshuffle the existing hierarchy.
Mercedes, having taken a clean sweep of the first three races, will start the weekend as the benchmark to beat. Their drivers, championship leader Kimi Antonelli and teammate George Russell, have demonstrated a level of consistency that has left the competition scrambling to catch up.
Sitting just behind the dominant German outfit are Ferrari and their two star drivers, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, who are separated by a modest eight points in the drivers' standings, occupying third and fourth places respectively. The pair have already provided fans with thrilling, wheel‑to‑wheel duels in both the Chinese and Japanese Grands Prix, underscoring how close the battle for podiums has become.
When asked about Hamilton, who broke his Grand Prix podium drought for Ferrari at the second round in Shanghai before a tougher weekend in Suzuka where he finished sixth while Leclerc claimed third, Brundle told Sky Sports News: "Lewis clearly enjoys these cars much more. Ferrari is more competitive and I think again will make a big step for Miami." He added that Hamilton's driving style appears to suit the current generation of cars better than the previous era of ground‑effect machines, which were notoriously harsh on the chassis and often mismatched with his preferences.
"Lewis obviously prefers this type of car to the seasons we had with the ground‑effect cars that were smashing against the ground and were quite brutal things, it didn't seem to suit his style," Brundle explained. The former Mercedes driver also noted a visible change in Hamilton's demeanor.
"But just his mood and the way he's going about it, he just seems a lot happier because Ferrari is more competitive. He's got to beat Charles Leclerc if he's going to win the world championship in the other Ferrari, and others. Let's see if he can sustain that.
If there's a sniff of a victory, I think Lewis is still very much capable of taking that," Brundle said. Hamilton's last win with Mercedes came earlier in his career, while Leclerc's most recent victory came in 2024, ending Ferrari's own winless streak that had stretched back to October of that year when Carlos Sainz triumphed in Mexico City.
The Miami round will also host the season's second Sprint weekend. McLaren have won the sprint race at the venue in both of the previous two years, yet Mercedes remain the favorites given their flawless record at the start of the new 2026 regulatory era. Nevertheless, Brundle cautions against drawing premature conclusions about the pecking order.
"I think it's totally wide open," he asserted. "We have a Sprint weekend in Miami, so there are Sprint points to be won, Grand Prix points to be won. This is going to ebb and flow. I see teams leapfrogging others with some upgrades because there is so much upside potential with these cars.
Anybody I would say in the top four teams, any of those eight drivers, could win this year's world championship." With nineteen races still on the calendar, the development race is far from over. The new technical regulations have provided a fertile ground for rapid progress, and teams are expected to continue introducing substantial upgrades throughout the season.
Brundle believes that the fluid nature of the competition means that even a modest improvement could catapult a team into contention for wins and, ultimately, the title. The weekend schedule is packed with action: a drivers' press conference on Thursday evening, followed by a paddock uncut session.
Friday will see F2 practice, the first Miami GP practice session, and the crucial F2 qualifying, before moving on to the team bosses' press conference and the Sprint qualifying session. Saturday features the F2 sprint, a build‑up to the Miami Sprint, the sprint itself, and a series of analysis segments, culminating in the main qualifying session later that evening.
Sunday will host the F2 feature race, a build‑up to the Grand Prix, the Miami Grand Prix itself, and post‑race analysis, all broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event and available to stream via NOW without a long‑term contract. In summary, Brundle's outlook is one of cautious optimism for Ferrari and a reminder that the 2026 formula remains in a state of flux. The combination of a relaxed development window, the upcoming Sprint format, and the inherent unpredictability of the new cars ensures that the championship battle will stay exciting right up to the final race, with any of the top teams and their drivers still having a realistic shot at the title.