Martin Brundle publicly backed Lewis Hamilton’s chances with Ferrari in 2026, saying Hamilton’s improved form, better adaptation to the 2026 regulations and a major upgrade package due at the Miami Grand Prix make him capable of winning races and mounting a title challenge. Brundle cited Hamilton’s stronger start to 2026, including his first Ferrari podium in China, and said the new car characteristics suit Hamilton better than last year’s machines. He described the Miami upgrade as a potential turning point for Ferrari.

Brundle contrasted that brighter start with Hamilton’s difficult 2025 debut at Ferrari. Hamilton finished sixth in the drivers’ standings and, for the first time in his career, failed to score a podium. Ferrari slipped from second to fourth in the 2025 constructors’ championship.

Teams began 2026 with Mercedes dominant in the opening races, Kimi Antonelli leading the drivers’ standings and George Russell close behind. Ferrari sit as Mercedes’ closest challengers, with Charles Leclerc third and Hamilton fourth, the latter running closer to Leclerc this year. Brundle said the Miami weekend felt like a ‘relaunch’ of the season after the development break, noting the Miami Sprint and Grand Prix points and the expected parts could reshuffle the pecking order and that rival upgrades might allow teams to leapfrog others. He warned Hamilton will still need to beat teammate Charles Leclerc consistently inside Ferrari to mount a genuine title bid and said the championship remained ‘totally wide open,’ framing his comments as an endorsement rather than a definitive prediction.

Honda’s trackside general manager Shintaro Orihara warned ahead of the Miami Grand Prix that upgrades due in Miami will not produce any major or visible improvements to Aston Martin’s engine performance. He said the 2026 Honda power unit has been underperforming and has suffered reliability problems and severe vibrations, issues that have disrupted performance and consistency. The AMR26 has managed just one finish in four events, including China’s Sprint.

Teams had hoped a five-week F1 break imposed after escalations in the Middle East would allow Honda to resolve the flaws, but work during that pause and countermeasures introduced before Suzuka produced only limited gains. Honda and Aston Martin carried out intensive collaboration, including static testing at Honda’s Sakura facility and work in Japan and the UK, and applied fixes that produced some progress. Expectations were high around Adrian Newey’s first Aston Martin design.

Orihara said further fixes will be applied in Miami and later in the season, but he does not expect a noticeable jump in power-unit performance at Miami. He pointed to Miami’s track profile, with long full-throttle sections, many slow-speed corners and high ambient temperatures, and to the Sprint weekend’s single 90-minute practice session as factors that complicate efforts to improve driveability, energy management and cooling. Under the new regulations Honda and Aston Martin are prioritizing driveability, energy management and cooling over headline power gains, meaning any recovery is likely to come through patient, incremental improvements rather than a sudden turnaround at Miami.

Cadillac unveiled a one-off “Stars and Stripes” livery and Miami-specific race suits for its maiden home appearance at the Miami Grand Prix. TWG AI presented the design; Chief Brand Advisor Cassidy Towriss called it “a natural extension” that “speaks without excess,” and Drew Cukor, president of TWG AI, described it as “a statement of identity and intent.” Cadillac described the look as “a subtle statement of pride.”

The one-off simplified the squad’s usual asymmetric livery into a largely monochrome scheme with red-and-white accents and explicit Americana touches. The car carried the letters “USA,” red-white-blue detailing on the rear wing, and a MAC-26 nameplate presented as a tribute to Mario Andretti. Cadillac said the deliberately recognizable design debuted during the extended 90-minute FP1 session at the Miami International Autodrome so fans could immediately identify the car.

Drivers Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez were linked to Miami-specific race suits for the weekend. Some outlets reported both drivers wore matching special suits at the event, while Cadillac had not posted the suit designs on its social channels at the time of reporting; accounts therefore differ on whether the team publicly showed the suits. The Silverstone-based Cadillac F1 team, owned by TWG Motorsports, is three rounds into its inaugural campaign after debuting in Australia. Cadillac sat 10th of 11 in the constructors’ championship, with a season-best finish of 13th by Valtteri Bottas in China. The one-off livery and suits were presented as a temporary, celebratory promotional showcase tied to Cadillac’s first U.S. home race and an early public signal of the team’s branding and competitive ambitions in its maiden season.

Both the Bahrain Grand Prix and the Saudi Arabian (Jeddah) Grand Prix were canceled after rounds in April were called off, and insiders say they are unlikely to be reinstated on the 2026 calendar despite contingency talks. FIA, Liberty Media and F1’s 11 teams discussed a possible Oct. 4 slot, and one report placed that date between the Azerbaijan race on Sept. 26 and the Singapore Grand Prix on Oct. 11, though reporting varied on the exact placement. Organizers had considered reviving a round in October to preserve a 23-race schedule. No firm decision has been announced; the parties declined to comment.

Insiders and F1 chiefs said rescheduling Bahrain or Jeddah is unlikely, leaving the 2026 calendar reduced. Officials and team bosses cited practical barriers, including Middle East summer heat, the operational strain of creating two triple-header sequences, the burden of four consecutive race weekends, driver welfare concerns and logistical constraints. F1 management warned that adding the two races could risk crowning an “undeserving” drivers’ champion and would introduce an extra 50 championship points. Re-adding Jeddah after Abu Dhabi was described as highly unlikely because of logistics and the FIA awards event in Shanghai on Dec. 12; contingency talks have continued over possible season-ending slots in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

The cancellations followed U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iran since February, a fragile ceasefire and a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, developments that directly affected race planning and regional safety assessments. Financially, Guggenheim Partners estimated about $200 million in annual revenue loss and roughly $80 million in EBITDA impact for Liberty Media, and reported Bahrain’s promoter fee at more than $50 million. F1 has been on hiatus since the Japanese Grand Prix on March 29; the championship is scheduled to resume in Miami May 1–3 using the sprint weekend format. No confirmed schedule changes have been published.