F1: Upgrades and a Warning
- Teams are rolling out upgrades for the Miami Grand Prix while podcasts unpack updated regulation proposals. (youtube.com 1) (youtube.com 2). - Ferrari tested Miami upgrades including a “macarena” wing and other bits at Fuji, per team test posts. (x.com). - Max Verstappen publicly warned F1 about growing issues, raising the stakes for whether upgrades convert into on‑track gains. (youtube.com) (youtube.com).
The Miami Grand Prix on May 1-3 is shaping up as Formula 1’s first real upgrade race of 2026. (formula1.com) (motorsport.com) Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur said Miami will mark “another championship” after April’s break gave teams time to prepare bigger changes than they could manage between the first three rounds. McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said his team used the same pause to chase “more important positions” from Miami onward. (motorsport.com) (formula1.com) Ferrari’s package is expected to center on a revised floor and front-wing work after private running in April, with specialist outlets reporting the return of the so-called “macarena” wing among the parts evaluated ahead of Miami. Formula 1’s own pre-Miami analysis said all 11 teams spent the shutdown “evaluating the data and chasing performance.” (the-race.com) (racingnews365.com) (formula1.com) That scramble comes under a new rule set for 2026 that changed both the chassis and the power units. Formula 1 says the cars are smaller and lighter, with active aerodynamics and engines that split output more evenly between the combustion engine and electrical power. (formula1.com) The rules are already being adjusted. Formula 1 and the FIA said on April 20 that “all stakeholders” agreed refinements to the 2026 regulations from the Miami weekend onward after an online meeting involving the FIA, team principals, power-unit manufacturers and Formula One Management. (formula1.com) Max Verstappen has been the most prominent driver warning that the new direction is creating problems. In March he said he hoped the FIA would act after Australia, and in February Autosport reported him saying Formula 1 must “stay away” from becoming Formula E. (motorsport.com) (autosport.com) Verstappen has also said it may be too late for bigger rewrites once the season is under way, even as Carlos Sainz argued Formula 1 should stay flexible if the racing or drivability suffers. Formula 1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali said this week that Verstappen’s “voice has to be listened to.” (motorsport.com 1) (motorsport.com 2) So Miami is carrying two tests at once: whether the first major upgrade wave can reshuffle a three-race pecking order, and whether the first agreed rule refinements ease the concerns drivers have raised in public. By Sunday in Florida, teams should have a clearer answer on both. (motorsport.com) (formula1.com)
