Question of the week: Will the Miami tweaks reshape F1 – or change very little?

April 29, 2026 · Yahoo Sports

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Formula 1 arrives in Miami with its first tweaks to the 2026 regulations, introduced in response to early concerns around energy management, racing quality and driver feedback. The changes are intended to address some of the quirks seen in the opening rounds — but how much difference can they really make?

Our journalists have their say.

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A step in the right direction, but not a huge one

Jake Boxall-Legge, Autosport:

Miami was not expected to be one of those circuits where it was patently obvious that harvesting was going to be tricky, but the first sector should at least yield some clues about the revised regs and whether they've worked.

But let's call them what they are: little tweaks. Maybe, if you're feeling charitable, you'd call them little more than sticking plasters designed to deflect some of the heat away from F1 and its governing body. The reduction in harvesting over qualifying will kill off lift-and-coast, but it'll contribute to slower laps overall as the drivers will have less energy, although the change in super clipping should be a net positive and ensure harvesting doesn't spill too far outside of the braking zones.

Changing the energy allowance around the lap, with 350kW only being used in straight mode zones, should also reduce the need to harvest and should mitigate the closing speed variation. All of these changes should get the ball rolling in the right direction; of course, if they work better than expected, then it might help F1 overcome the awkward 2026 growing pains; if not, then it's back to the drawing board.

Let the record show that I generally enjoyed the first three races, and felt that it was a better show than much of what we've had over the past couple of years. But, I also understand the sanctity of racing purity and, if there was a way to have our cake and eat it, it would be the utopian ideal of Formula 1. Such things, however, are rarely the best of both worlds and the worst of none...

F1 2026 is still a work in progress

Promising tweaks, but far from the finished product

Fil Cleeren, Motorsport.com F1 reporter:

Setting high expectations can only lead to disappointment, right? But the paddock people we have spoken to who have a more intricate understanding of what impact the changes will have, all say 20226's first rules refinement is a step in the right direction.

It certainly won't be perfect, and I would caution that the true effects won't be really seen until F1 heads to Barcelona in June - a trickier circuit for energy management than the upcoming stretch of races.

But if McLaren tech boss Mark Temple is right in saying the need to lift and coast will be all but eliminated from qualifying, then that's one major eyesore taken care of both for fans and drivers alike. Slightly slower laptimes are a low price to pay, and few people are likely to notice anyway.

The biggest question mark is how much the lower energy harvesting limit and more powerful super clipping will reduce closing speeds during the race, as cars will still be running out of energy on the straights to start generating energy against the engine. Hopefully those speed traces will now be less aggressive.

But McLaren's Andrea Stella cautioned that more significant improvements will likely require actual hardware changes rather than just fiddling around with software settings, which can only be done year to year. So, expect this to just be the start of a protracted process to whip the 2026 regulations into a palatable shape.

Max Verstappen has been critical of the 2026 regulations

The only change that matters now is drivers’ feedback

Oleg Karpov, Motorsport.com Global edition:

From a competitive point of view, there’s not much to be expected. Even if the pecking order does change in Miami, it will have very little to do with what are essentially cosmetic tweaks to the rules. The cars remain the same, and the changes are aimed at mitigating some of the unwanted quirks seen in the opening rounds.

That said, with teams having had more than a month to analyse data and fast-track development, some shifts are still possible. But if Ferrari and McLaren do start to seriously challenge Mercedes – not just in the opening laps, but in qualifying and over a full race distance – it’s unlikely to be a direct result of the rule tweaks.

What Formula 1 management and the FIA will really be hoping for is improved feedback from the drivers. That has been the main driver behind the criticism of the new rules. Had drivers been more positive in their media appearances, even many hardcore fans might not have perceived such a big issue. The racing looks good, and there is clearly more action – but it leaves a bitter aftertaste when the drivers themselves say they weren’t actually trying to overtake, but were effectively forced into it.

The tweaks are designed to improve qualifying and give drivers more control over what’s happening on track. That is what matters most right now. For F1 to be appealing to its audience, it also has to be appealing to its drivers. The positive is that the sport is responding to their feedback — but whether that will be enough remains to be seen.

Rule changes come into force in Miami

The impact on the competitive order may come from elsewhere

Federico Faturos, Motorsport.com Latin America:

While Miami’s rule tweaks were introduced to improve Formula 1’s overall package - particularly qualifying performance - while also addressing safety concerns created by varying closing speeds, the obvious question is how much they will affect the competitive order established over the opening rounds of the season.

The timing of the changes suggests the answer may be: not very much. Teams have already completed a full pre-season programme and three grands prix with the new and highly complex power units, giving them a substantial bank of data on which to base their work. With the FIA confirming the revised regulations 11 days before cars run at the Miami International Autodrome, there has also been enough time for simulator preparation.

Just as importantly, these changes did not emerge overnight. They are the outcome of weeks of discussions involving the FIA, F1 management, teams and manufacturers. That means it is highly likely teams had already been modelling potential scenarios as the direction of travel became clearer.

Then there is the extra 30 minutes added to Miami’s only practice session. In a sprint weekend format, any additional track time is valuable, and this should give teams a meaningful opportunity to correlate their simulator findings and arrive at qualifying with a clear idea of how best to exploit the revised rules. It would be no surprise if most of the field converges on similar solutions quite quickly.

That is not to say Miami cannot produce movement in the 2026 pecking order. But if it does, the more probable cause is likely to be the upgrade packages many teams are bringing rather than the rule tweaks themselves. In that respect, the most intriguing question is whether the picture seen up to Japan remains intact - or whether Miami marks the start of something different.

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