The Miami Grand Prix was billed as a Formula One reset, given the five-week absence due to the cancellation of two of the Middle Eastern rounds. Mercedes’ key rivals all brought substantial upgrades to their cars, while the Silver Arrows preferred to wait until three weeks’ time in Canada.
Early in the weekend, it looked as though the early-season pecking order had indeed been disrupted as Lando Norris eased into pole position for the Sprint. McLaren claimed a 1-2 in the short-form Saturday morning race, and neither Mercedes was anywhere near the third step of the podium, which went to Charles Leclerc.
In qualifying, McLaren was strong again, as was the Ferrari of Leclerc, but it was a dominant lap from Kimi Antonelli on his first run in Q3 that set the standard. Norris and Leclerc failed to make the grade across two runs, and then the last man on track, Max Verstappen, pulled out a blinder to get within a tenth of the Mercedes protégé to claim P2 on the starting grid for the Grand Prix.
Verstappen magic on display again
We’ll never really know how good the Red Bull car had become with its plethora of upgrades because, on the opening lap, the fast-starting Ferrari of Charles Leclerc fended off a challenge from the Red Bull driver, only for Max to lose control at Turn 2.
In a remarkable display of car control skills, Verstappen caught his RB22 just as it completed a 360-degree spin; without the car coming to a halt, he pushed it forward again to find himself down in 8th position. With the safety car being deployed on Lap 7 for the stricken Isack Hadjar and the flipped Pierre Gasly—in separate incidents—Red Bull decided to switch Verstappen’s tires to the hard compound.
While this was an early call, having destroyed the set he started on in clouds of smoke during his spin, it was the only realistic decision the team could have made. Max did carve his way through the field, even briefly leading the race once more before the degradation on his tires meant the likes of Antonelli, Norris, Piastri, and Leclerc had all moved ahead of the quadruple world champion.
George Russell was making hard work of closing down the ever-slowing Red Bull of Verstappen, but in a cruel twist of fate on the final lap, Charles Leclerc spun his Ferrari, brushing the wall. For some unknown reason, the world feed TV pictures were following this but cut away to the lead car just as the smoke from the Ferrari’s tires filled the screen.
McLaren strategy team left snoozing
As Leclerc limped around the rest of the lap with a broken suspension arm, this allowed Russell and Verstappen to close on the Ferrari, passing the unfortunate Monegasque driver in the final corner of their race. The Red Bull in the hands of Verstappen was indeed mighty, but determining how close it is to Mercedes and McLaren will require us to wait another three weeks for the race in Montreal.
Coming into the weekend, the drivers remained skeptical over the new FIA rules governing the management of their electrical energy. Indeed, the “yo-yo” overtakes remained present during the Miami Grand Prix. In fact, during the early stages of the race, Lando Norris was instructed by his engineer to let Leclerc and Antonelli “play at yo-yo racing.” The McLaren driver was instructed to maintain a watching brief and take his advantage when the two ahead were energy-poor.
Norris did this to perfection and would probably have gone on to win the race had his strategy team not been snoozing; they allowed Mercedes to pit Antonelli first, and he made good use of a pit-stop undercut move for the lead when Norris finally changed his tires.
There was a fair bit of yo-yo racing between Oscar Piastri and George Russell, and then again between Piastri and Leclerc when the Australian made a late charge in the race. So, the issue of drivers making “fake” passes due to a ridiculous overspeed from battery power has not been solved as the FIA would have hoped.
“Super clipping” remains very obvious
Further, ‘super clipping’ was obvious on the long back straight, with the cars beginning to derate—as their batteries emptied—several seconds ahead of the braking point for Turn 17. This made a number of the overtakes at that section of the track look as though there were different classes of cars racing on the same piece of asphalt.
While the FIA did not declare the parameters allowed for electrical energy management, there were some in the paddock who believed the overall energy allowance had not been reduced for Miami. The FIA retains the right to reduce it from 8MJ to 7MJ, but on a circuit described as “energy rich”—due to the large braking zones—it appears they chose not to do so.
Granted, there were no horrific closing speeds as seen during the first three rounds of 2026, yet again this would be track-specific. The only place where this could occur was down the longest straight as the drivers approached Turn 17. In fact, there were some very easy overtakes along this stretch during the race.
All in all, the Miami Grand Prix was a little less chaotic than its three 2026 predecessors, although some of the on-track action was as ridiculous as it appeared in Australia, China, and Japan.
Conclusion: Tidier but a hardware solution is required
On the whole, the drivers preferred not to discuss the impact of the rule changes in their post-race media stints. Oscar Piastri appeared to voice the collective opinion of the drivers when he concluded the racing can only be fixed by “changing the hardware of the power unit”—something we won’t see before next season.
Clearly, the FIA and Race Control should announce their decisions at each venue regarding the revised super-clipping harvesting rate allowance together with the maximum recharge allowed each lap. The regulation changes were presented as fixed, yet they merely give the FIA and Race Control options to reduce electrical energy power and manage harvesting rates should they see fit.
In terms of the pecking order being shaken up, it was the fourth Mercedes Grand Prix victory of the season. Yes, Lando Norris kept Antonelli honest, but he was no real threat in the closing laps of the race. Then again, in Japan, without the fortunate timing of the safety car, Antonelli may well have been beaten by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.
So, it’s nip and tuck at the front; the regulations have tidied up some of the on-screen chaos, but there are no big upheavals to report, as many in the paddock expected.
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A.J. Hunt is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Andrew oversees editorial standards and contributes to the site’s Formula 1 coverage. A career journalist with experience in both print and digital sports media, Andrew trained in investigative journalism and has written for a range of European sports outlets.
At TJ13, Andrew plays a central role in shaping the site’s output, working across breaking news, analysis, and long-form features. Andrew’s responsibilities include fact-checking, refining editorial structure, and ensuring consistency in reporting across a fast-moving news cycle.
Andrew’s work focuses particularly on the intersection of Formula 1 politics, regulation, and team strategy. Andrew closely follows developments involving the FIA, team leadership, and driver market dynamics, helping to provide context behind the sport’s biggest stories.
With experience covering multiple seasons of Formula 1’s modern hybrid era, Andrew has developed a detailed understanding of how regulatory changes and competitive shifts influence the grid. Andrew’s editorial approach prioritises clarity and context, aiming to help readers navigate complex developments within the sport.
In addition to editorial duties, Andrew is particularly interested in how media narratives shape fan perception of Formula 1, and how reporting can balance speed with accuracy in an increasingly digital news environment.
