Kimi Antonelli’s victory in Miami extended Mercedes’ unbeaten run in Grands Prix in 2026 to four wins from four, but the weekend showed the field closing in after a long, upgrade-heavy break.
McLaren took pole and the Sprint win, interrupting Mercedes’ clean sheet in competitive sessions, Red Bull showed clear improvement, and Ferrari flashed strong pace at times. The question now is whether the pecking order has shifted and what to expect next.
An unusually large wave of updates arrived in Miami. The FIA’s weekend document listed 64 new parts introduced across the 11-team grid, 27 of which were shared among the ‘big four’. Mercedes only brought two small updates as they reserve a larger package for Canada, while McLaren and Red Bull each introduced seven items and Ferrari led the weekend with 11 new parts.
Numbers alone don’t decide competitiveness, but the upgrades had an immediate effect. In Sprint Qualifying on Friday, Lando Norris claimed the first non-Mercedes pole of the season, and he and team-mate Oscar Piastri finished one-two in the Sprint. Antonelli was fourth on the road (later penalised) and George Russell was off the pace in Miami, a circuit that has not suited him.
Mercedes improved their set-up and energy deployment after the Sprint, and Antonelli produced a superb Q3 lap to take pole from a revived Max Verstappen. Antonelli then won the Grand Prix, chased hard by Norris, with Piastri a distant third around 27 seconds back; the rest of the field finished more than 40 seconds behind the winner.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said the upgrades had changed the competitive picture and credited execution and optimisation for single-lap differences. He acknowledged Mercedes still retain “a couple of tenths advantage” evident in race pace, and suggested Mercedes’ weaker Sprint showing was down to not fully exploiting the car rather than rivals leapfrogging them.
Mercedes did struggle early in Miami with energy deployment and set-up until after the Sprint, but their race pace underlined that they remain the benchmark. Toto Wolff reiterated that major gains from upgrades are not guaranteed, warning that items must prove themselves on-track and noting cost-cap constraints on development.
Ferrari, despite bringing the most parts, failed to place a car on the podium in either the Sprint or the Grand Prix for the first time this season. Team principal Frederic Vasseur said the upgrades worked and starts were strong, but consistency in traffic was the problem: pace in clean air was good, but performance dropped when their cars ran in traffic, and the team must analyse that delta. Charles Leclerc’s race ended complicatedly, including a spin and a penalty for cutting corners on the final lap.
Red Bull described Miami as a “definitive step forward” for the RB22. After qualifying well off the pace in earlier rounds, they closed the gap significantly in Miami—qualifying six tenths off pole on Friday and within two tenths on Saturday—despite Verstappen’s opening-lap spin compromising his race. Laurent Mekies said the upgrade and problem fixes unlocked lap time and signalled meaningful progress, even if the exact performance ceiling is still unclear.
The development battle will continue ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal on May 22-24. McLaren plans to bring a second phase of its Miami update in Canada, while Mercedes has long targeted the venue for a larger aerodynamic package aimed at increasing downforce. Stella said McLaren has multiple parts in the pipeline for Canada, Monaco and Spain and expects a close fight among four teams for poles and wins.
Mercedes’ strength appeared particularly evident in high-speed corners in Miami, according to Stella, and their pace patterns in the race suggested a faster package overall. Ferrari, by contrast, matched Mercedes well in turns but lost ground on the straights; the team hopes to use the Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) mechanism to improve their power unit performance if they qualify for it.
ADUO allows manufacturers judged to be down on internal combustion engine (ICE) performance to develop their power unit further: those trailing the benchmark ICE by 2–4% receive one development opportunity, and those more than 4% behind get two. The FIA planned ICE performance reviews at three points this season—after rounds six, 12 and 18 (with the calendar changes this season affecting the specific events under review). Manufacturers will know whether they qualify for ADUO following those assessments.
Red Bull are unlikely to receive an ADUO and will therefore focus on chassis and aerodynamic gains. Their short-term plans for Canada are not fully disclosed, but their trajectory in Miami suggests they can be part of the podium fight in Montreal.
All teams will have had another couple of weeks at their factories to refine parts before Canada, so expect further development across the grid. The upgrade race — constrained by the cost cap and strategic priorities — looks set to define much of the championship, with Mercedes still holding the early advantage but McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull closing in and ready to push the Silver Arrows further.