The 2026 Formula One calendar gets back on track this week with the Miami Grand Prix, an event that many are describing as the true beginning of a "new championship" after the sport endured a forced hiatus in April. For the first time since the Japanese Grand Prix on March 29, all of the teams will be back on the circuit together on Friday at the Miami International Autodrome, following a five‑week lull that resulted from the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian rounds originally slated in the 24‑race programme. Miami now marks the fourth race weekend of the year and the second Sprint weekend, but the month‑long break has given every outfit a rare window to develop their brand‑new 2026 cars in the factories. Since Mercedes’ rookie Kimi Antonelli claimed the championship lead with his victory at Suzuka, the return to racing is expected to feel somewhat different from the opening three events.
Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur, whose squad has been the closest challenger to Mercedes before the pause, said the weekend will feel like a fresh start to the campaign. "Everyone will bring new upgrades to Miami," Vasseur told Sky Sports Italy at Suzuka.
"They’ll have time to work on the software, which is why I said a new championship will start." Mercedes boss Toto Wolff echoed the sentiment, noting that his team has already secured three race wins and a Sprint victory, but that the hiatus offers a chance for all teams to catch up in the new regulatory era. "Teams have learned, drivers are starting to learn how to optimise these systems to their benefit and we saw the 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 on April 12 and Saudi Arabia on April 19, but both events were called off for safety reasons linked to the Middle‑East conflict. With no viable alternatives and no other races pencilled in for April, the series faced 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 those mandated shutdowns, the eleven teams were free to continue development behind closed doors throughout April.
The $215 million (£159 million) budget cap and the aerodynamic testing restrictions remained in force, as did the ban on full in‑season track testing, although limited runs were allowed on filming days and Pirelli test sessions. Development plans for early 2026 cars had already been set before the Middle‑East races were cancelled, but the extra factory time has undoubtedly allowed engineers across the grid to refine and enhance their packages for Miami and the races beyond. McLaren, for example, has always viewed Miami as a key venue for debuting a major aerodynamic upgrade – a strategy that paid off in 2024 when the Woking factory introduced a game‑changing package.
Andrea Stella, McLaren’s team principal, explained last week that the team intended to bring a "completely new car" to the North American races. "The calendar change helped a little, like it helped all the other teams that could work more streamlined towards upgrading the car rather than being busy with racing," he said.
"Across Miami and Canada we will see an entirely new MCL40. I expect most of our competitors to do the same, so it will be a test of who can add 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 gathered from the first three race weekends, informing decisions on which aerodynamic elements to prioritize and how to best manage the complex 2026 power units.
Drivers, meanwhile, have used the time for fitness work, extra simulator sessions, and deep collaboration with their engineers to fine‑tune their driving styles for the new cars. Technical chiefs have also been in talks with the FIA on regulatory tweaks that are set to be introduced from Miami onward. The main change concerns power‑unit energy deployment, aimed at allowing a more natural, flat‑out qualifying lap and reducing drastic speed differentials during races. Because of these adjustments, the sole practice session on the Sprint weekend in Miami will be extended from 60 to 90 minutes, giving crews and drivers ample time to adapt to the new parameters.
Mercedes currently lead both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships, having won three of the opening three race weekends. Their advantage over second‑placed Ferrari stands at 45 points, while McLaren sit 89 points back in third, buoyed by a strong second place at Suzuka. Red Bull, Haas and Alpine occupy the lower midfield positions, with Red Bull only six points ahead of Haas. In the drivers' standings, 19‑year‑old Kimi Antonelli tops the table with 72 points, followed by George Russell on 63 points, Charles Leclerc in third, and Lewis Hamilton in fourth.
Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, and Max Verstappen round out the top six, the latter still struggling to find pace under the new regulations. The weekend schedule is packed: Thursday features a drivers' press conference, Friday hosts F2 practice, the Miami GP practice session, F2 qualifying and the Sprint qualifying, Saturday includes the F2 sprint, the Sprint race and qualifying, and Sunday culminates with the Grand Prix itself, followed by post‑race analysis.
All sessions will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1, with streaming available via NOW without a contract. The Miami Grand Prix thus represents not just a return to racing but a pivotal moment where teams will showcase the fruits of a month’s intensive development, potentially reshaping the competitive order for the rest of the 2026 season.