The Miami Grand Prix is seen as a potential 'relaunch' for the 2026 F1 season due to recent regulatory changes and a month-long break for car development. Teams are expected to showcase improvements starting from the race weekend on May 1.
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Former F1 driver and Sky Sports F1 presenter Martin Brundle has revealed that the Miami Grand Prix could mark the “relaunch” of the 2026 season, considering the month-long break in April that teams made use of to develop their cars, and the recent changes announced to the regulations that could potentially change the pecking order.
Mercedes dominated the first three rounds of the 2026 season, but a series of meetings in April involving F1 teams and the FIA led to a change in the technical regulations. This could alter the competitive order and is expected to improve racing.
But how the changes play out in the real world can only be known starting from the Miami Grand Prix weekend on May 1. Brundle believes the long break due to the cancellations of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix allowed F1 teams to work on their cars, the result of which will be witnessed this weekend.
When asked by Sky Sports News if the Miami GP could shuffle the competitive order, Brundle said:
“Yes, I think it can, but it’s more like a relaunch of the season, frankly.
“The enforced break, teams are going to turn up with dramatically changed and hopefully improved cars.
“We don’t know who’s going to get it right. I think it’s going to be the story of the season, actually, with such a massive change that we’ve had for 2026, so I’m really looking forward to it.
“Will it satisfy the drivers? It’s quite clear that the drivers that have got fast cars and winning are somewhat more satisfied than those drivers that are not, so I guess that’ll carry on.”
Recent meetings led to changes in the technical regulations, which could alter the competitive order and improve racing.
The month-long break allowed teams to develop their cars, which is expected to be evident during the Miami Grand Prix weekend.
The Miami Grand Prix is viewed as a relaunch due to the combination of regulatory changes and the opportunity for teams to enhance their cars during the break.
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Brundle added that F1 is in the process of “smoothing” the way power is delivered by the complex hybrid systems on cars, but didn’t shy away from saying there is always room for improvement. He said:
“There’s always huge amount of unintended consequences in anything you change in Formula 1, it’s a pretty complex business. So what we’re in the process of is smoothing out the power delivery of these complex hybrid cars, and I think it will be a step forward.
“The drivers are concerned at closing speeds. We always did have that sort of thing if somebody missed a gear in front of you, for example, back in the day when you shifted your own gears or suddenly blew up – but, back then, you could smell a little bit of oil or hear the engine note or whatever and, obviously, you can’t see that now, with a lot of it being battery driven.
“So, yes, in summary, it will improve the racing. It will improve the cars, but I’m sure there’s more to be done yet.”