Miami GP 2026 — Weekend annex

The Miami International Autodrome is 5.412 km long and the 2026 race runs 57 laps for a 308.326 km race distance. Lap record (race conditions) belongs to Max Verstappen from the 2023 edition. The circuit layout is unchanged from 2022 — 19 corners, three heavy-braking zones (turns 1, 11 and 17) and one long flat-out section between turns 8 and 11 where under the old DRS rules cars gained the most on straight-line overtakes. With DRS replaced by active aero in 2026, overtaking dynamics will look different and pre-race setup emphasis on outright top speed (DRS-open drag at ~5°) is gone.

Pirelli confirms the three nominated dry compounds for each weekend in the week preceding the event — that bulletin has not dropped at the time of writing. Historically Miami favours a middle-of-range selection (C2-C3-C4) because of high track temperatures and abrasive asphalt. Expect the official list in the FIA media centre 48-72 hours before FP1.

2026 is the first season without DRS. Active aero (driver-controlled low-drag mode) is available everywhere on the lap, so the 2022-2025 Miami DRS zones (the start/finish straight and the run between turns 11 and 14) no longer exist as formal zones. Expect drivers to run low-drag mode for most of the roughly 1.4 km back straight and the pit-straight DRS corridor, and switch back to high-downforce for the tight infield complex around turns 13-16. Teams will have to weigh how aggressively to trim rear-wing angle given Miami's mix of long straights and short-radius corners.

FIA Technical Directives are issued throughout the season clarifying regulation interpretation. Any TD specifically targeting Miami will be indexed here when it lands. As of writing, no Miami-specific TD has been published — if one appears (for example, on flexi-wing load tests after free practice), we'll update this annex.

Not from the official FIA PDF. Based on coverage by ESPN, Sky Sports, Motorsport.com, The Race, Crash.net, Motorsport Week, Autosport and RACER following the FIA/F1/teams meeting on 2026-04-20, a package of refinements to the 2026 technical regulations was agreed to take effect at the Miami Grand Prix. They address three observed problems from the opening three events (Australia, China, Japan) and test one new safety system.

1. Qualifying — energy management. Two symptoms drove the change: 'superclipping' (the car losing top speed while the driver is still flat out, because the MGU-K is pulling energy off the ICE to charge the battery) and 'lift and coast' (drivers backing off before braking zones to access the full 350 kW MGU-K harvest rate). Three tweaks: - Maximum per-lap recharge cap dropped from 8 MJ to 7 MJ. The usable battery is 4 MJ, so instead of trying to refill twice per qualifying lap, drivers now target roughly 1.75 refills — a 12.5% cut in recoverable energy. - Peak superclip rate raised from 250 kW to 350 kW. Faster recharge during superclip means less time spent superclipping, and removes the lift-and-coast incentive since 350 kW was only reachable that way before. - Circuits where the FIA can impose sub-7-MJ limits expanded from 8 to 12 (half the calendar). A reference data point: the FIA said the same-direction tweak introduced at Suzuka reduced superclipping from ~10 s to ~6 s per lap there; the stated target is a structural 2-4 s per lap.

2. Race — Boost capped at +150 kW. Previously Boost gave drivers the full 350 kW of MGU-K on a button press, which could mean jumping from near-zero electric power to peak. After Oliver Bearman's crash into Franco Colapinto at Suzuka — where the closing-speed differential was reportedly ~50 km/h because one car was on Boost and the other was harvesting — Boost is now capped at +150 kW above the car's current output (or at the current output, whichever is higher). Still ~200 hp on demand, but without the extreme differentials. FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis publicly stated the Bearman-style scenario 'should basically be avoided from the next race'.

3. MGU-K deployment by lap zone. The 350 kW peak remains only in 'key acceleration zones' (corner exit through braking, including overtake zones). Elsewhere on the lap the deployment ceiling is 250 kW.

4. Start-line experiment (Miami only for now). A new 'low-power start detection' system flags cars with abnormally low acceleration after clutch release and triggers an automatic MGU-K assist to guarantee a minimum launch — preventing the scenario of a car with depleted battery being essentially stationary on the grid while the rest of the field approaches at racing speed. Paired with a new visual warning: flashing rear and lateral lights on the affected car to alert trailing drivers. A separate fix resets the energy counter at the start of the formation lap. Miami is a test weekend; full adoption depends on data.

5. Wet-weather package. Three measures taking effect this weekend: hotter intermediate tyre blankets (to address drivers complaining of cold pit-exit intermediates), a reduced ERS deployment ceiling in wet running (reduces instantaneous-torque instability on low-grip surface) and a simplified rear-light system (clearer visibility for following cars in low-visibility conditions).