Scott Gulbransen
Formula 1 emerged from its five-week break with a tweaked rulebook and a clear question: would the changes actually fix what drivers had been complaining about all year? After Sunday’s 2026 Miami Grand Prix, the answer is somewhere between a little and not really.
The FIA’s refinements to the 2026 regulations were targeted, not sweeping. Qualifying energy harvesting dropped from 8 megajoules to 7, superclipping increased from 250 kilowatts to 350 kilowatts, and race starts now include a minimum MGU-K acceleration to prevent drivers from getting bogged down off the line.
The goal was simple. Make qualifying feel more like qualifying, cut the closing-speed gaps that worried drivers in traffic and reduce the manual throttle babysitting at the start of flying laps.
So, what was the verdict?
What Worked with Updated 2026 F1 Rules Update
What worked? Qualifying. Drivers near-universally said the changes made one-lap pace feel closer to traditional F1.
Ollie Bearman of Haas pointed to the automated throttle on the qualifying out-lap as a meaningful fix, saying drivers had been forced to look down at the dash to confirm a 50 percent throttle reading, which he called “a bit dangerous.” Nico Hulkenberg of Audi said the package was “a little bit of a reset” and described qualifying as “more user-friendly, more pushy.”
What Didn’t Work at the Miami Grand Prix?
What didn’t? The race itself, mostly. The so-called yo-yo racing the new energy rules produced was still on full display, most visibly in the scrap between race winner Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc, where the two repeatedly swapped positions as their batteries cycled. Lando Norris, who finished second after watching that battle from behind, was blunt afterward.
“It’s a small step in the right direction, but it’s not to the level that Formula 1 should still be at yet,” Norris said.
Max Verstappen, the loudest critic of the 2026 formula since preseason, didn’t soften his stance.
“What I said before about the regulations is still the same,” Verstappen said. “It’s still not how I would like to see it. I mean it’s still punishing you. The faster you go through corners you go slower on the next straight. So, that’s not what it should be about. But at least my car is working a bit nicer so it’s a bit less stressful to drive.”
Fernando Alonso flagged the structural issue that the tweaks couldn’t address.
“This power unit and this regulation will always reward going slower in the corners, because you have more energy,” Alonso said.
Antonelli, meanwhile, took the win and extended his championship lead, reminding everyone that the Mercedes power unit advantage isn’t going anywhere soon. Leclerc’s race ended in a 20-second penalty after a last-lap spin into the Turn 3 wall, dropping him from sixth to eighth.
The bigger picture: F1 has bought itself some breathing room with these refinements, but the fundamental complaints about energy management and corner-speed penalties remain. The FIA is reportedly already weighing more substantial 2027 engine adjustments. Miami suggested they’ll need them.
