The weather could become a big factor at Miami this weekend. Friday and Saturday will be sunny and blue skies for practice, the sprint race and qualifying but it becomes complicated for the race on Sunday. Heavy rain with a chance of thunderstorms predicted to hit around the start of the race at 16.00 local time.
Under US law an outdoor event will need to be halted if there are thunderstorms close by. It also states that an event cannot restart until there isn’t a clap of thunder for 30 minutes. An FIA spokesperson discussed the weather situation with F1 website RacingNews365.
“We have a contingency plan in place and will activate it if needed to minimise disruption to the on-track programme.”
This contingency could include moving the race to earlier in the day.
There has been a rule change with the boost button banned during wet sessions. The boost button is a button on the steering wheel when pushed will give the car extra power.
The difficulties of the second driver at Red Bull. Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson, Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon are all great drivers. All apart from Tsunoda are on the grid for 2026 but all struggled during their time at Red Bull Racing. In 2026 Frenchman Isack Hadjar was given the position after impressing at Racing Bulls in 2025.
At the first weekend in Melbourne Hadjar impressed with qualifying in third but had to retire the car during the race due to a power unit issue. The struggle continued in the next two races. Out of the points during the sprint race in China and during the race itself he finished in eighth. In Japan he started the race in eighth but was down to 11th by the end of the third lap. Hadjar pitted before the safety car which cost him two more positions. He would finish the race in 12th unable to pass the cars ahead. Hadjar has four points in the drivers championship. The Red Bull has struggled for performance with his teammate Max Verstappen only four points ahead of him in the championship and Red Bull well of the pace in the constructors championship.
Can Ferrari be a contender in Miami? There has been a lot to like about the start of the season for the team from Maranello. Ferrari’s start to races has been impressive. We first saw signs of this during testing in Bahrain. At the end of each testing session the drivers would practice their starts. Ferrari were the clear standout speeding passed the other cars down the straight. We saw it in full flight in the first race in Melbourne . Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc began the race in fourth and at the end of the first corner he was first. His teammate Lewis Hamilton started in sixth and was third after lap one. This happened again in China with the two Ferrari’s starting in third and fourth, Hamilton was in the lead after they finished the first lap.
It hasn’t just been their starts with one Ferrari on the podium for each of the races. Leclerc at Australia and Japan and Hamilton in China, both the cars were on the podium in the sprint race. in China. The Mercedes have been the standout but have been signs that Ferrari are close. At the end of the Japanese Grand Prix, Leclerc battled with Mercedes George Russell for the final spot on the podium. Leclerc was able to perform a brilliant passing move and hold him off for the rest of the race.
After the Japanese Grand Prix Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseaur spoke to the F1 Media about what he believes they need to improve on.
“We know we have a deficit in terms of straight line performance and we will work on that over the next weeks.”
Ferrari sit second in the constructors championship 45 points behind Mercedes.
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