Max Verstappen’s decision to make his Nürburgring 24 Hours debut produced unusually high ticket demand and forced a complete sell-out of the event for the first time in its history, organizers said, with only a limited number of day tickets remaining. Verstappen is due to race on May 16-17, 2026, with the four-hour-plus start scheduled for May 16 at 15:00 local time (14:00 UK). He will drive a Mercedes-AMG GT3 for a Red Bull-linked Team Verstappen run by Winward Racing, alongside co-drivers Lucas Auer, Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella.

Verstappen’s recent outings on the Nordschleife helped spark the surge in interest. He raced earlier in 2026 in the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie with Winward, took pole position and showed front-running pace before a potential win was lost after a technical infringement led to disqualification. Lando Norris said he was excited to see Verstappen at the 24 Hours and praised a specific action Verstappen performed during his previous Nürburgring run. Public and media attention has followed the Dutch driver beyond the Formula 1 paddock.

The Nürburgring 24 Hours began in 1970 and has hosted more than 30 drivers with Formula 1 experience. With four world championships and more than 230 Grand Prix starts, Verstappen is the most decorated and experienced Formula 1 competitor ever to enter the race. Past F1 world champions to race the event include Niki Lauda, Nelson Piquet and Jack Brabham, and Lauda remains the only F1 champion to have won the Nürburgring 24 Hours, in 1973. The event’s record holders among former F1 drivers include Hans-Joachim Stuck, with 19 entries and three overall wins, Markus Winkelhock, with 16 starts and three wins, and Pedro Lamy, who has five overall victories. Observers and organizers framed Verstappen’s entry as the latest chapter in a long-running tradition of Formula 1 drivers crossing into endurance and GT competition.

Sergio Perez warned that Cadillac must find consistent on-track performance quickly and speed up development across departments or risk being left behind in the 2026 F1 campaign. He pointed to well-resourced rivals such as Aston Martin, which has invested heavily, including a new simulator and targeted hiring, as a particular threat to a newcomer. Cadillac entered F1 this season running Ferrari customer engines and only put its maiden F1 car on track on January 16. The team has not yet scored championship points. Perez said scoring points would likely require a chaotic race.

Cadillac has shown encouraging moments but only occasional promise in the opening rounds. The team looked competitive in Miami, splitting the two Aston Martin cars and benefiting from upgrades, with Perez running as high as 15th in the sprint and finishing 13th in the Grand Prix, close behind Fernando Alonso in both races. Persistent problems have included reliability issues and excessive tire degradation that has cost performance. Perez also said he would have chosen softs instead of the hard tire he ran in one race.

Across the early rounds the Cadillac was about 1.3 seconds off the Q2 cutoff, a gap that narrowed to roughly 0.3 seconds in Miami sprint qualifying before rivals were able to extract more pace. Operationally the team has made visible gains, pit stops improving from 25.793 seconds in China to 23.228 seconds in Miami, quicker than Ferrari, Haas and Audi that weekend but still behind Mercedes’ best of 22.042 seconds. Cadillac has also signed Valtteri Bottas. Perez said getting a better understanding of the MAC-26 ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix is a short-term priority, and the team frames short-term fixes and targeted upgrades as essential to closing the gap with established teams.

Ford publicly endorsed the FIA draft to shift next-generation Formula 1 power units from the 50/50 combustion/electric split introduced this season to a roughly 60/40 combustion/electric balance planned for 2027. Ford Performance boss Mark Rushbrook called the proposal “a good step” and said “we would love to see a V8 here.” Ford said it supports the FIA’s broader vision of returning to V8 power units, with FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem targeting a return by 2031, and expects to reconcile that direction with its comeback partnership with Red Bull Powertrains, pledging to commit full resources despite a difficult start to the season.

The FIA draft would increase fuel flow and combustion output by about 50 kW while reducing available electrical deployment by a similar amount, subject to technical and political approval. Rushbrook welcomed the greater internal combustion emphasis but warned it could create technical and packaging challenges, including fuel tank sizing, necessary chassis redesigns, and implications for the cost cap that teams and the FIA will need to manage.

Drivers criticized this season’s package for excessive battery management, reduced flat-out wheel-to-wheel racing, and unusual energy-harvesting tactics. Other manufacturers offered conditional support: GM president Mark Reuss said he liked the V8 sound while noting investments in current V6 hybrid units, and reports suggest Audi is likely less supportive.

The Miami-spec upgrade, intended for Race 1 but delayed by winter build issues and a missed Barcelona shakedown, finally debuted in Miami and began cutting weight. Williams expects a clearer turnaround in the final third of the season.

Miami produced Williams’ first double-points weekend of the year as Carlos Sainz finished ninth and Alex Albon tenth, lifting the team to eighth in the constructors’ standings and clear of Audi. Reports differ on the championship arithmetic: some outlets say Miami gave Williams its first points of the season, others say it added three points to an existing two, a shortfall traced to an overweight FW48 early in the year. Williams was sixth-fastest across the weekend.

Sainz said the package reached the competitive baseline Williams had targeted but remained well short of the team’s long-term goal, and he said Alpine was roughly 20 seconds clear. He warned a full recovery could take months, said there was no single silver bullet and noted more parts and small updates are due over the next rounds. Team principal James Vowles described Miami as a better weekend and said the team brought around 30 performance projects to the car, including a new floor, new bodywork, front-wing changes, modified rear suspension and exhaust-blowing work. He said further development is planned through the Canadian round and beyond and the team hopes to use the Miami breakthrough to build momentum into the latter part of the season while acknowledging rival development paths remain an unknown.

McLaren sporting director Andrea Stella publicly urged major changes to Formula 1 power unit regulations, calling for higher fuel flow to raise internal combustion engine (ICE) power, much greater electrical energy harvesting from roughly 350 kW toward 400-450 kW, and larger batteries to rebalance harvesting versus deployment. Stella asked that revised power-unit hardware and rules be finalized within two years, effectively by mid-2028, framing the request as a McLaren push to shift the balance between hybrid systems and ICE power ahead of the next rules cycle.

Multiple sources and technical analysts warned the substantive hardware changes face long lead times and design constraints, saying higher fuel flow would force larger fuel tanks and likely chassis redesigns. Manufacturers and teams have largely planned to retain their 2027 chassis, which makes meaningful implementation before 2028 unlikely.

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem signaled interest in a return to V8 engines in the next rules cycle, and McLaren driver Lando Norris joked that teams should consider ‘getting rid of the battery.’

F1 stakeholders agreed in principle to rebalance internal-combustion engine and energy-recovery system power for the 2027 power-unit rules, shifting roughly 50 kW of nominal power from ERS deployment to the ICE by allowing higher permitted fuel flow and reducing ERS deployment.

At an online meeting the FIA, team principals, Formula One Management and representatives of the five power-unit manufacturers outlined the package and said changes trialed at the Miami Grand Prix informed the proposal, improved on-track competition and did not produce material safety concerns.

Power-unit manufacturers must formally vote on any refined proposal and the World Motor Sport Council must complete an e-vote before rule changes are ratified. Detailed technical discussions will follow.

The FIA amended its 2026 power unit regulations by expanding the Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities, or ADUO, regime to give lagging manufacturers extra dyno hours, additional upgrade windows and cost cap allowances. The change inserts a new greater-than-10 percent performance deficit tier into the existing sliding scale that already covers deficits above 2, 4, 6 and 8 percent.

Manufacturers measured more than 10 percent behind can access an additional $11.0 million, up from $8.0 million, plus 40 extra dyno hours. They also receive a one-off inaugural-season $8.0 million allowance, creating a potential $19.0 million uplift that the FIA treats as a downward adjustment against the cost cap. The $8.0 million 2026 allowance is structured as a loan to be repaid across 2029 through 2031 under the updated rules.

Reporting windows were revised to reflect the lost Bahrain and Saudi rounds, with period one covering rounds 1–5 (ending in Montreal), period two running through round 11 (Hungary) and the final period running through round 18 (Interlagos). The change was prompted by early reliability and vibration problems that harmed performance and durability for Honda when supplying Aston Martin, and Honda is viewed as a likely beneficiary. Teams and rival manufacturers cautioned the system must guard against “leapfrogging”, critics warned the move risks manufacturer-specific assistance and a precedent for future entrants, and figures including Toto Wolff raised concerns about targeted remedies. Observers also noted the loan structure and the policy’s design raise questions about long-term parity and whether similar interventions could recur for other manufacturers.

An onboard clip showed seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton raising his middle finger at Alpine driver Franco Colapinto after a first-lap collision at turn 11 in the Miami Grand Prix. The contact ran Hamilton wide and damaged his Ferrari SF-26, which Ferrari said reduced downforce and hampered the car’s performance for the rest of the event. Hamilton recovered to finish sixth.

The FIA chose not to impose a reprimand or fine for the gesture, and the lack of retrospective sanction drew criticism and comparison with earlier penalties. Commentators labeled the gesture unsporting and many fans defended Hamilton.

Dani Juncadella publicly accused the FIA of inconsistent treatment, noting he had received a suspended €5,000 fine for making the same gesture at the WEC season finale in Bahrain and pointing to Max Verstappen’s community-service order for swearing during the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix. Juncadella said he did not think Hamilton’s behavior was right but argued any penalty should match what he received and suggested a €2,000 fine as a fair outcome.

Pundit James Hinchcliffe warned the next two rounds were crucial if Hamilton hoped to match teammate Charles Leclerc after being outpaced in Miami, and Hamilton abandoned Ferrari’s simulator ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix.

Former F1 driver and pundit Juan Pablo Montoya urged regulators to discipline Max Verstappen after Verstappen’s on-record criticism of Formula 1’s new regulations. Speaking on the BBC’s Chequered Flag podcast ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, Montoya called the comments “disrespectful” and said they had “crossed a line.” He told officials to “park him” and to add “seven, eight points” to Verstappen’s Super Licence, saying drivers may dislike new rules but must “respect the sport.” Montoya also argued that tangible sanctions would change how high-profile drivers message their objections and suggested Verstappen’s public remarks could be influenced by his team.

Verstappen had likened the 2026 cars to “Mario Kart” and described the new rules as “Formula E on steroids.” Those remarks were among the most vocal criticisms alongside comments from Charles Leclerc and Lance Stroll, who called the rules “fundamentally flawed.” The debate followed concerns that some overtakes were influenced more by deployment strategy than by on-track performance, an issue highlighted by incidents involving Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton in Japan. The FIA and Formula 1 disclosed refinements during a five-week break and teams introduced tweaks ahead of the Miami race aimed at improving starts and wet-weather safety, changes that appeared to improve racing in Miami.

The exchange has sharpened a wider dispute about enforcement and reputational risk as Formula 1 prepares for major regulatory change. Commentators and former drivers offered differing views. Montoya framed the matter as both a disciplinary and reputational issue and advocated penalties that could escalate to race suspensions. Damon Hill said fans appreciate outspoken drivers. The episode underscores growing tensions between drivers and governing bodies over how rule changes are discussed publicly and what disciplinary measures are appropriate.