It has been five long weeks since the Japanese Grand Prix, and the racing on track is going to look a little different this weekend. The FIA has introduced a package of rule changes that come into effect this weekend. With the chaos that has ensued through the first three race weekends, this is the FIA’s first real chance to change regulations.

On top of rule changes, Miami is a Sprint race weekend, which compresses the schedule even tighter. The FIA has extended FP1 to 90 minutes, allowing teams more time to get familiar with the new regulation changes and the track. However, there is going to be a lot to watch for this weekend. Here’s what’s happening and what to watch for.

Qualifying will look like F1 again, but keep an eye on the back straight

Qualifying should finally look like qualifying again at Miami this coming weekend. Unlike in the first three races, where drivers had to deliberately slow their car on high-speed corners to conserve energy, the new changes should allow drivers to really push the pace to set the fastest lap.

The new FIA changes reduce how much energy a car can harvest from a single lap from eight megajoules to seven. It’s counterintuitive: less recoverable energy means less power, but it also means less battery harvesting. Drivers will need to charge the battery once per lap instead of twice, meaning they should have more speed around corners.

Impact of Energy Management and Battery Harvesting at Miami

During both Sprint Qualifying and Qualifying next weekend, watch how cars perform down the long back straight. In the first three races, cars would visibly decelerate without touching the brakes multiple times. The new rules mean that this should happen for 2-4 seconds per lap, instead of multiple times over the race. If the drivers push through this section between turns 11 and 17, it’s working. If they are mysteriously slowing down towards the end, it’s not.

Watch for flashing lights off the start

Starts have been a key talking point in Formula 1 in 2026, and while this has made for more exciting racing, it poses major risks to drivers. The MGU-K cannot kick in until the car hits 50km/hr to control launches. However, if a driver botches the start, they can sit stationary or move very slowly behind a pack of cars accelerating quickly. The Miami GP has a tight right hand turn right off the start, leading to an increased risk where a driver could be unintentionally hit if they cannot move quickly enough.

To fix this, a new detection system monitors drivers off the start. If the acceleration is abnormally slow, the MGU-K automatically deploys to get the car moving. This triggers flashing lights on the car to alert drivers behind.

Where will you see this at the Miami Grand Prix?

At the start of the Sprint and the Grand Prix, watch how drivers accelerate into Turn 1. If you see flashing lights on a car, you will know that this new system has been activated. This is the first time the FIA has implemented this system, and they will be keen to gather data as to whether to keep this change, amend it, or remove it entirely.

Is this the end of the “yo-yo” overtake?

The first three races of the year saw numerous overtakes, but because of the oscilation between boost mode and harvest mode, the overtakes were being reversed almost immediately. It was easy to overtake, but much harder to hold that place. Drivers called it yo-yo racing, but it was artificial.

The new FIA regulations should change this. The maximum boost has been capped at 150kW above whatever the car was producing instead of the full 350kW spike from zero. This should narrow the gap between the harvesting car and boosting car. While this will make overtakes harder, it should make them harder to undo as well.

Where to watch for overtakes at the Miami Grand Prix

The two zones most known for overtakes on the track are at turn 17, right before the main straight, and the run down to turn 1. If the overtakes here hold, you will know that the changes have had the desired impact, but if you see the yo-yoing continue lap after lap, the FIA changes did not work as expected.

The big question going into the Miami Grand Prix

Beyond all the regulation changes and the excitement of being back on track, one thing is on everyone’s mind; Will the Mercedes dominance continue. George Russell and Kimi Antonelli have won all three races so far this season, with the latter starting to emerge as the better driver for the German side.

Miami is the first real test of whether the competitive balance has shifted, or if the Mercedes dominance is set to continue. Toto Wolff and co. have been more efficient with their energy deployment and have had less off-track disruption than any other team. The W17 has shown superior MGU-K deployment through the first three rounds. Can they continue to hold on to their advantage?

On the flip side, the team to really keep an eye on is Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari have been pushing Mercedes this season, and the five week gap should have given the Italian team time to work on SF-26 upgrades. Both Ferrari and Mercedes have cars that are underweight this year, allowing them to maximize the weight to speed ratio and optimize their centre of gravity. How they hold up under the new regulations is going to be critical to watch.

This is the weekend with the most unknowns since the start of the season, and that is exactly what makes it so exciting to watch.