The 2026 Formula 1 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 of the teams will be on the track together on Friday at the Miami International Autodrome, ending a five‑week pause that was imposed when the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian rounds were cancelled from the original 24‑race programme. Miami now marks the fourth race weekend of the year and the second Sprint event, but the month‑long interval that teams have enjoyed in their factories means the return to racing is likely to look different from the opening three meetings. Mercedes’ young driver Kimi Antonelli seized the championship lead with a win at Suzuka, giving his rivals extra time to refine the still‑new 2026 cars before they hit the streets of Florida.
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur, whose outfit has been the closest challenger to Mercedes before the break, described the situation as "another start to the season". "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 team boss Toto Wolff echoed the sentiment, noting that the Silver Arrows have already claimed three race victories and one Sprint win, but that the hiatus gives all teams a chance to catch up under the new regulations.
"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 12 April and Saudi Arabia on 19 April, but both events were called off for safety reasons linked to the Middle‑East conflict.
With no feasible replacement venues and no other races slated for April, the cancellation produced 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 current pause allowed the eleven teams 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 (though limited runs were permitted during filming days and Pirelli test sessions).
Development plans for the early‑season cars had been set well before the Middle‑East rounds were cancelled, but the extra time in the factories inevitably gave designers and engineers the opportunity to fine‑tune their packages for Miami and the races that follow. McLaren, for example, has always viewed Miami as a showcase for a major early‑season upgrade – the Woking factory introduced a game‑changing package there in 2024.
Andrea Stella, McLaren’s team principal, explained that the revised calendar actually helped his team and others to concentrate on a "completely new car" for the North‑American events. "We could keep up with this plan, obviously the fact that the calendar has been changed sort of helped a little bit like I’m sure helped all the other teams that could work more streamlined towards upgrading the car rather than being busy with racing," Stella said. He added that both Miami and the Canadian Grand Prix will see an "entirely new MCL40" and that the weekend will be a test of who can extract the most performance from their upgrades within the same timeframe.
Consequently, Friday’s on‑track action will be heavily focused on the upgrade packages each team brings, how those changes translate into lap times, and whether any significant reshuffling of the pecking order occurs. Teams that struggled early – such as Aston Martin and Williams – will be hoping the break has given them a chance to make larger relative gains.
Beyond hardware, the pause has allowed engineers to digest the massive amount of data generated during the first three race weekends. That information feeds not only aerodynamic development decisions but also strategies for operating the power units and managing tyre wear over a race weekend.
Drivers, too, have used the time to improve fitness, spend extra hours in simulators, and work closely with their engineers to refine their driving style for the new‑generation cars. Technical directors have also been in talks with the FIA about regulatory tweaks that are set to be introduced from Miami onward.
The latest changes to the power‑unit rules focus on energy deployment, aiming to make qualifying laps feel more naturally flat‑out and to reduce dramatic speed differentials during races, especially in sections of the circuit where closing speeds have previously been problematic. Because of these adjustments and the five‑week lull, the sole practice session on the Sprint weekend will be extended from the usual 60 minutes to 90 minutes, giving drivers and teams ample time to adapt to the new parameters. Mercedes currently sit atop both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships, having won three of the opening three race weekends. Their lead over second‑placed Ferrari is 45 points, while McLaren sit 89 points behind in third place after a strong second‑place finish at Suzuka.
Red Bull, Haas and Alpine occupy the lower midfield positions. On the drivers' side, 19‑year‑old Kimi Antonelli surprisingly leads the standings with 72 points, followed by George Russell on 63 points. Charles Leclerc is third for Ferrari, 23 points shy of Antonelli, with Lewis Hamilton fourth, Lando Norris fifth, Oscar Piastri sixth, and Max Verstappen ninth – a far cry from the dominance the Red Bull driver has shown in previous eras.
The weekend schedule is packed: a press conference on Thursday evening, F2 practice and qualifying on Friday, the Sprint race and Sprint Qualifying on Saturday, and the full Grand Prix on Sunday, with numerous Sky Sports programmes and live streams available. As the Miami Grand Prix kicks off, fans and teams alike will be watching closely to see whether the "new championship" narrative holds true, and which upgrades will prove decisive as the 2026 season truly gets underway.