The FIA has extended Free Practice 1 at the Miami Grand Prix from 60 minutes to 90 minutes and moved the session to 12:00–13:30 local time. The change followed a crunch meeting between Formula 1 and the FIA that produced a series of rule refinements after negative feedback from drivers and fans, and the FIA framed the extension as a sporting and logistical measure rather than a change to competitive formats.

Officials and organizers said the longer opening practice will give teams extra on-track time to reacclimatize and to evaluate setups and updates amid technical tweaks, including adjustments aimed at energy management in qualifying, race-start procedures and wet-weather rules. The extension also responds to confirmed tweaks to the 2026 engine regulations, which organizers say will alter power-unit behavior and require more running to adapt.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said improved simulation tools and closer collaboration with HPP, the power-unit partner referenced in sources, have helped teams better predict power-unit performance, but warned that “simulators can’t replicate every real-world scenario.” To accommodate the change, the FIA moved all track activity that precedes FP1 30 minutes earlier and organizers issued a revised timetable that advances other sessions, including Formula 2, by the same amount.

The rest of the Miami weekend schedule remains unchanged: Sprint Qualifying on Friday at 16:30, the Sprint on Saturday at 12:00, Saturday’s Grand Prix qualifying at 16:00 and the Grand Prix on Sunday at 16:00. The extended FP1 will be the first official F1 track session since the Japanese Grand Prix on March 29 after the cancellations of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian races; teams have used filming days and Pirelli tire tests for extra running. Heading into Miami, Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli leads the Drivers’ Championship and Mercedes tops the Constructors’ standings. The next event, Montreal, is in three weeks and is also a sprint weekend.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown warned that growing A/B-team links and common ownership in F1 threaten the sport’s competitive integrity and urged that such ties be reduced “as much as possible, as quickly as possible.” He said cross-team relationships should be limited to customer power-unit supply and that he raised the issue during Concorde Agreement discussions, summing up the risk bluntly: “A-B teams threaten sporting integrity.”

Brown cited several examples to illustrate his concern, including Daniel Ricciardo taking the fastest-lap point at the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix, the Aston Martin and Racing Point brake-duct intellectual property dispute, and rapid staff moves and compensatory deals that can distort competition and complicate cost-cap compliance.

He pointed to established technical and ownership links such as Red Bull’s dual ownership structure and Ferrari’s technical partnership with Haas, including shared gearboxes, rear suspension and hydraulic and electronic systems, as relationships that should be closely monitored and limited. The comments came amid reports that Mercedes was assessing a possible minority purchase of a 24% stake in Alpine, a move Brown said would deepen the A/B relationships he opposes. He explicitly criticized any Mercedes or Toto Wolff buy-in and said his stance “applies to anybody and everybody.” Mercedes and Wolff have said they would not intend to make Alpine a junior team. Brown also welcomed speculation that former Red Bull principal Christian Horner could return to F1, calling him “a great personality” and “a great operator,” and saying he would be “shocked” if Horner did not return to the sport, whether with Alpine or another team.

McLaren will introduce a “completely new” aerodynamic B-spec MCL40 at the Miami Grand Prix on May 3 and plans to run the revised car again at the Canadian Grand Prix. Team principal Andrea Stella called the package an “entirely new MCL40” and a “philosophical shift,” describing it as a planned technical overhaul to make the car more competitive.

The move follows a difficult start to this season for the defending constructors’ and drivers’ champions, who have struggled for pace and reliability. Lando Norris finished fifth at the Australian Grand Prix. Oscar Piastri failed to score in the opening races before scoring a podium in Japan. The team also endured problems in China that reports variously described as a double-DNF or failures to start. Cancellations of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian rounds created an enforced April break that gave McLaren extra factory time to concentrate on the upgrades.

McLaren will use Miami to measure the upgrades’ effectiveness and hopes the B-spec will restore last season’s competitiveness; the team has won the last two editions of the Miami Grand Prix. Stella cautioned the package “may not dramatically reshuffle the order,” noting rivals Mercedes and, to some extent, Ferrari have also had development time and that outcomes will depend on both McLaren’s changes and concurrent work by competitors. The team drew confidence from a past mid-season turnaround, with reports pointing to either 2022 or 2023 as the precedent.

The 2026 Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, originally scheduled to be held from April 17-19 at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, has been cancelled. The decision was announced on March 14, 2026, due to the outbreak of the 2026 Iran war, with safety concerns for drivers and staff cited as the reason for the cancellation. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was the defending champion of the 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, securing his third win of that season at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.