Ferrari and McLaren bring upgrades
- Ferrari, McLaren and Cadillac have all arrived in Miami with major new parts after Formula 1’s long April gap reshaped development plans. - McLaren says Miami and Canada will amount to an “entirely new” MCL40, while FIA rule tweaks also cut recharge to 7MJ and raise peak superclip power. - That matters because Mercedes still sets the pace, so Miami could reset the order instead of merely trimming gaps.
Formula 1 is back in Miami, but this is not just another race weekend. It’s the first real reset of the 2026 season. Ferrari, McLaren and Cadillac have all turned up with serious upgrade plans after the April schedule collapse gave teams an extra month to rethink their cars. The twist is that Miami also debuts tweaks to the new 2026 power-unit rules, so teams are chasing two moving targets at once — their own hardware and the way the cars now have to use energy. (formula1.com) ### Why is Miami such a big upgrade race? The short version is calendar chaos. Bahrain and Saudi Arabia dropped off the April run, which left teams with five weeks between Japan and Miami. In a normal season, that time gets eaten by racing and logistics. This t(formula1.com)t checkpoint of the new rules era. (formula1.com) ### What is McLaren actually bringing? McLaren is the loudest about it. Andrea Stella said the Miami and Canadian rounds together will reveal an “entirely new MCL40,” mainly from an aerodynamic point of view. The team has already specified changes to the front (formula1.com)ercooked. (formula1.com) ### Is McLaren expecting to win right away? Not really. Oscar Piastri was pretty blunt on Thursday — the upgrades should make the car faster, but he does not expect them to be enough to beat Mercedes in Miami. That matters because it tells you(formula1.com)ercedes power unit. (fia.com) ### What about Ferrari? Ferrari looks like the other headline team in this upgrade wave. It came into Miami already in decent shape — three podiums from the first three races — but still chasing Mercedes for outright wins. The interesting bit is that Ferrari has been testing more adventurous aero ideas, including its rotatin(fia.com)ari is not just bringing updates. It may also be shaping the direction of the field. (formula1.com) ### Why does Cadillac matter here? Because this is its home race and its first big development swing as a brand-new team. Formula1.com flagged Miami as the place Cadillac hoped to bring its first upgrade package, with Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas still looking to score t(formula1.com)mi a useful read on whether it can become a real midfield irritant. (formula1.com) ### What changed in the rules? The FIA adjusted the 2026 energy-management rules after the first three races. Recharge drops from 8MJ to 7MJ, peak superclip power rises from 250 kW to 350 kW, and race-boost behavior gets capped to reduce wild closing-speed diff(formula1.com) it also forces teams to remap how their whole package works. (fia.com) ### Why does the sprint format make this harder? Because Miami is a sprint weekend, so there is barely any practice time. Teams are rolling out major parts and revised energy settings with less real track data than they would want. It’s like trying to rebuild a plane while the gate is already closing. If somebody gets the setup wrong on Friday, there is not much room to hide before sprint qualifying and the grand prix. (the-race.com) ### Bottom line Miami looks like the start of F1 2026, version two. Mercedes is still the benchmark, but Ferrari and McLaren are trying to change the shape of the chase, and Cadillac is using its home weekend to prove it belongs in the fight. By Sunday, the gaps may not disappear — but the order behind the front could look very different. (fia.com)
