What To Watch For in the Miami Grand Prix

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What is F1 TV?F1 GlossaryGet involved2026 RegulationsNewsVideosWhat To Watch For in the Miami Grand PrixBreakingNew start time confirmed for Miami GPWhat the teams said – Sprint day and Qualifying in MiamiMcLaren ‘back down to reality’ after Miami QualifyingPlay1:32GHOST CAR: See how Antonelli beat Verstappen to pole for the Miami Grand Prix 0:59Polesitter Antonelli hoping to maximise Miami GP start after falling short in the Sprint Alexander AlbonFernando AlonsoKimi AntonelliOliver BearmanGabriel BortoletoValtteri BottasFranco ColapintoPierre GaslyIsack HadjarLewis HamiltonNico HulkenbergLiam LawsonCharles LeclercArvid LindbladLando NorrisEsteban OconSergio PerezOscar PiastriGeorge RussellCarlos SainzLance StrollMax VerstappenAll Drivers Hall of FameTeamsChevron DropdownAlpineAston MartinAudiCadillacFerrariHaas F1 TeamMcLarenMercedesRacing BullsRed Bull RacingWilliamsAll TeamsFantasy & GamingChevron DropdownF1 Sim RacingFantasyF1 25F1 Manager 24F1 PredictF1 ClashF1 Members' AreaMenuFIA if(window.f1MobileDetection.iOSSafari) { var meta = document.createElement("meta"); meta.name = "apple-itunes-app"; meta.content = "app-id=835022598, app-argument=https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/thunderstorms-and-a-wide-open-fight-for-victory-what-to-watch-for-in-the-miami-grand-prix.2alZ286NtbOYYDBjv0Y42m.2alZ286NtbOYYDBjv0Y42m"; document.head.appendChild(meta); } {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/thunderstorms-and-a-wide-open-fight-for-victory-what-to-watch-for-in-the-miami-grand-prix.2alZ286NtbOYYDBjv0Y42m","url":"https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/thunderstorms-and-a-wide-open-fight-for-victory-what-to-watch-for-in-the-miami-grand-prix.2alZ286NtbOYYDBjv0Y42m","mainEntityOfPage":"https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/thunderstorms-and-a-wide-open-fight-for-victory-what-to-watch-for-in-the-miami-grand-prix.2alZ286NtbOYYDBjv0Y42m","datePublished":"2026-05-03T00:08:06.477Z","dateModified":"2026-05-03T00:08:06.477Z","headline":"What To Watch For in the 2026 Miami Grand Prix: Thunderstorms and a wide-open fight for victory","author":"F1","description":"Chris Medland picks out five key things to keep an eye on when the lights go out on race day in Florida.","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://www.formula1.com/etc/designs/fom-website/social/f1-default-share.jpg"},"isAccessibleForFree":"true","publisher":{"@type":"SportsOrganization","@id":"https://www.formula1.com#organization","name":"Formula 1","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://www.formula1.com/etc/designs/fom-website/social/f1-default-share.jpg","width":"480","height":"120"}}}What To Watch ForF1 UnlockedMiamiShow more tagsThunderstorms and a wide-open fight for victory – What To Watch For in the Miami Grand PrixChris Medland picks out five key things to keep an eye on when the lights go out on race day in Florida. From multiple drivers in the fight for the win to an even greater premium on the start, and from Kimi Antonelli with a chance to open up a bigger championship lead to a wet weather forecast, here are five things to look out for when we race for a second time this weekend at the Miami International Autodrome… At different points of this race weekend, any one of the top four teams have looked like they have the performance potential to fight for pole position and victory. While McLaren took a one-two in the Sprint, Charles Leclerc closed in late on as he finished third and had the race pace to suggest he could have stayed in the lead had he earned track position at the start. Mercedes were quick in the early part of the Sprint but faded, before Kimi Antonelli bounced back to take pole position for the Grand Prix. Added to the top three teams from the opening rounds, Max Verstappen has also been much happier with the handling of his Red Bull as it allows him to trust the car more, topping Q2 and going on to secure a place on the front row. Calling a winner from all of those options is proving particularly tricky, because clean air and leading the pack could be key. If it’s dry, we saw drivers struggling to follow a little due to temperatures during the Sprint, while if it’s wet the visibility could play a significant factor. Any of the top seven will believe they have a chance of winning if the race plays out in their favour. 2. More start excitement The starts have been a regular point of action so far this year, with large differences in launch speeds leading to a number of positional changes off the line. That has often seen Mercedes having to fight through against the likes of a fast-starting Ferrari, and Kimi Antonelli again struggled off the front row in the Sprint. Unlike previous races, Mercedes didn’t have the performance advantage to recover in the Sprint, and that meant it was the first time neither car finished in the top three. But Oscar Piastri’s start was a strong one – as were those of the Ferraris again – and there was some extremely close battling between Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton through the opening corners (see the clip below). That said, the elbows tend to come out that little bit more on a Sunday given the greater number of points on offer for the Grand Prix itself, so it could be a feisty first sector as the field tries to fight its way through the sweeping early corners as a pack. Given all of the above, it’s far from a certainty that the starting positions will translate into the finishing order, but if they did then Kimi Antonelli would record a third straight Grand Prix victory and extend his advantage in the Drivers’ Championship to 22 points over team mate George Russell. Rather than looking solely at Antonelli, Russell would also have Charles Leclerc breathing down his neck in the standings, as another third place would see the Ferrari driver close to within eight points. That’s all hypothetical, but it shows the strong position that Antonelli starts from, on a track where he has appeared far more comfortable than Russell, both this weekend but also in his rookie season. Converting his starting position into a points gain could be crucial in the title fight come the end of the season, because there are sure to be other venues where Russell finds himself in better shape – including the next round in Montreal where he won last year. Antonelli already missed one chance this weekend as a track limits penalty demoted him from fourth to sixth in the Sprint classification, costing him a three-point swing compared to Russell. But he bounced back impressively amid strong competition this weekend to secure pole, and just needs to find a way of getting off the line cleanly to give himself the best chance of securing another win. 2025 was painful for Alpine as they prioritised their longer-term goals and focused on the 2026 car from an early stage, leaving them bottom of the Constructors’ Championship last year. That move has paid off so far this season, with Pierre Gasly scoring points in every Grand Prix up to now, and adding another point to his tally in the Sprint on Saturday. Alpine registered double points at the last Sprint weekend in China, and Franco Colapinto has put them in a great position to be able to do so again as he’s enjoying a very strong Miami Grand Prix so far. After reaching the final part of qualifying in both sessions, he will go from eighth place on Sunday – ahead of Gasly in 10th – and with a chance of his best result to date for the team. Upgrades have seen Alpine slip behind Red Bull a little compared to previous races, but also pull slightly further clear of the rest of the chasing teams, reaching Q3 with an 0.4s margin over 11th-placed Nico Hulkenberg. But there are four different teams – Audi, Racing Bulls, Haas and Williams – in the next four positions looking to take advantage of any opening offered to them by one of the top 10, in order to score points themselves. The weather forecast has been a talking point for much of the weekend, with thunderstorms expected to hit at some stage on Sunday. Predicting the exact timing they might arrive is challenging, so the FIA has given itself more flexibility to react to the conditions by moving the race start time forward to 13:00 local time - three hours earlier than originally scheduled. Should there be thunder and lightning, then local protocols can dictate a pause in proceedings until the storms have cleared the area, but either way any wet weather is likely to have a major impact on the race. That’s because the majority of teams have not run these new cars in wet conditions yet, and so drivers will be getting their first laps on intermediate or wet tires in a race scenario. Only the Ferrari and Red Bull drivers – during the pre-season shakedown in Barcelona and Pirelli tyre testing – have run in the wet, so perhaps have a little more of a reference than their rivals heading into Sunday. McLaren ‘back down to reality’ after Miami QualifyingOUR PARTNERSView allDownload the Official F1 AppScheduleDriversNewsTeamsFantasy & GamingCookie PreferencesMoreF1FacebookXInstagramYouTube© 2003-2026 Formula One World Championship Limited