2026 - Race 4 (Miami)

[F1nKS]

After the long layoff, F1 moves to Miami. Will it be a restart to the season? What teams will bring upgrades with having extended time off? Will it make a difference?

Race 4, FIA has made some "refinements". They are calling them tweaks because the FIA director Nikolas Tombazis has insisted that the 2026 rules are "fundamentally a good package".

Meanwhile, an F1 driver has been implicated in an escort ring sting operation.

Mercedes seems to be adding a junior team with Alpine.

[F1nKS]

Sergio Perez on the 2026 Rules

"This Formula 1 is definitely very different, and the reality is that nobody understands it, not the engineers, not us drivers,"

"It's a fact that the cars aren't as fun as they used to be. There comes a point when you're going 80 or 90 kilometres per hour faster than the car in front and you don't know why."

Oscor Piastri said:

"I still need someone smarter than me to explain it to me."

but it may be the eye of the beholder. George Russel has counterpoint

"I definitely don't share that (criticism) at all. I'm personally really enjoying the car,"

[Matthew]

Good to have F1 back after the long break and it will be interesting to see if any team has made gains to challenge Mercedes who are dominating the constructors and drivers championships at the moment. Miami should be a solid test too, with decent overtaking spots and a more festival-style atmosphere.

There is also a lot going on for fans beyond the track this year, with multiple fan zones, live entertainment, team activations, simulators and events happening around the city with driver appearances and interactive experiences. This guide gives a solid overview of what’s planned.

Overall it is shaping up to be a strong mix of racing and off-track experience.

[Nitrodaze]

oopsy doo

[Nitrodaze]

HERE WE GO AGAIN!!!!

Season reset or does the beat go on for Mercedes? So much talk of Aduo and loads of interesting spy videos and pics of the filming testing of the teams. And it seems we are going to be seeing heavily revised cars at Miami. Mercedes quietly plods away doing their thing while showing very little. All the excitement is at Ferrari, where a raft of updates seems to have transformed the SF26. No engine upgrade yet, so we can expect that it may still be slower than Mercedes. The most anticipated car is the McLaren. They made a half-second jump forward in Japan, with the unplanned break to their favour, we can expect them to be much closer to Mercedes at Miami. Miami seems to bring out the best in the McLaren cars for some reason. Hence, seems like a race that McLaren can win, realistically. But that depends largely on how much the Ferrari pair inserts themselves into the fight for the win.

This is a race where Russell would be seeking to put an end to the rut and secure a win. The same can be said for Norris, who would be hoping for a productive weekend.

Redbull seems to have completely redesigned their car. They even have their own Marcarena wing. Having the second fastest engine on the grid, Redbull is a team to watch this weekend.

Thankfully, we are set for an uninterrupted run of racing weekends to the end of the season; one hopes.