Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren: a crucial first response for the future in Miami

The track finally speaks again, in a weekend that is accompanied by many new features, to the point that someone has already defined Miami as the start of a new championship. The changes to the rules are on everyone’s lips, but even more important is the arrival of the first wave of updates. The developments will be a real litmus test of who has identified the best machine concept, an observation that would guarantee a precious advantage for the coming months and perhaps even for the next few years. The updates are arriving. Development is definitely taking off in Miami, which will be very different from that of recent years. As always happens at the dawn of a regulatory cycle, cars still have enormous room for growth, which is why the updates promise a big leap in performance. Furthermore, while with ground-effect Formula 1 cars the innovations often had unpredictable side effects, the development of the new single-seaters will be more intuitive and linear. However, even before improving performance, the updates will provide initial feedback on which cars have the best concept for these regulations, the one that can offer the greatest margins for growth in the long term. It’s not simply about the shapes of the bellies, suspension patterns or specific solutions, but rather about the way the car works as a whole and how its aerodynamic structure is. Identifying the winning concept is not easy, since those who design are based on initial information that is often incomplete, which leads to assuming that one path is more promising than others. Clive Mason/Getty Images It’s not uncommon for a team to start with a very competitive concept in the first few games, only to then lose their way in the long run and have to start from scratch. This was the case of Ferrari in 2022, whose choice to focus on an extremely low and rigid car guaranteed a good start to the season, then revealing several critical issues in the second part and even more so in 2023. The same happened to Red Bull two years later, whose dominant concept in the first half of the ground effect era collapsed from 2024 onwards. Here then the developments in Miami already become crucial, helping to understand who is on the right path for the next few years. Everyone chasing the Mercedes The updates are just the tip of the iceberg of the work that the teams have carried out during the break. Despite everything, Mercedes continues to enjoy the favor of the forecast, thanks to the best power unit of the lot and a greater mastery of energy management. Russell is aiming to redeem himself after two frustrating weekends, with a technical problem costing him pole position in China and a far from optimal set-up in Japan. However, beware of underestimating Antonelli, who has undoubtedly matured in recent months, arousing great curiosity to witness a direct comparison with his teammate. Furthermore, the Italian returns to the track where a year ago he achieved his first start from the pole in the Sprint, with the aim now of repeating himself in the long race. Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images The Silver Arrows, however, will have to manage increasing pressure from their pursuers, starting with McLaren. The papaya lineup introduces the first updates since the launch of the MCL40, which for this very reason could guarantee an important leap. Furthermore, the world champions are confident that they have improved the exploitation of the Mercedes power unit, especially in energy management. Ferrari also has room for growth in this area, while to reduce the power lag it will have to wait for the updated engine. The SF-26, however, also includes some aerodynamic innovations, some of which were initially planned for Canada. There is also great curiosity to see if Red Bull will be able to cure the vices of the RB22, afflicted until March by evident balance problems and aerodynamic instability. The innovations, however, will also concern the mechanical part to get closer to the minimum weight, a discussion valid for everyone. Finally, particular attention goes to Aston Martin and Honda, whose priority is to resolve vibration problems, linked not only to the power unit. Joe Portlock/Getty Images The rules change In addition to the development packages, changes to the technical regulations make their debut in Miami. Teams and drivers will need to use their time on track to understand how to adapt their energy management strategies and driving style. The simulations say that superclipping will still be there, but for a shorter time, and that thanks to the increase in charging power at wide open throttle it will no longer be necessary to resort to lift and coast in qualifying. It remains to be seen whether the drivers will actually be free to push on the flying lap without too many second thoughts about energy management, but in any case it doesn’t seem that the situation will be resolved completely. The Sprint format makes the teams’ agendas even busier, with a single free practice session extended to 90 minutes. Never before has the priority been to accumulate kilometres, even more so to provide as much data as possible to the energy management software, which adapts its strategies by learning from previous laps. Furthermore, if the risk of storms were to persist on Sunday, the problem would also arise of where to find the right compromise in terms of aerodynamic load, not being able to fully open the mobile wings in the wet. Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images The track Everything takes place on a particularly varied track that highlights the different qualities of each car. The first sector is a sequence of high-speed corners, where aerodynamic load, reactivity in changes of direction and agility on the curbs emerge. The central section, however, is a narrow complex with low mileage, with mechanical grip reigning supreme and where a smaller turbo, such as the Ferrari one, is useful for having good thrust at low revs. Furthermore, until last year Miami was one of the most penalizing tracks for aerodynamic drag, which with the new cars translates into a greater emphasis on active aerodynamics. From an energy management point of view, the American track will not be as critical as Melbourne and Suzuka, but that doesn’t mean it will be a walk in the park. According to Brembo’s estimates, braking time has been reduced by 16 to 11% since last year, which is why the energy recoverable when braking is limited. According to the simulations, the only three braking areas are those at turns 1, 11 and 17, at the end of the three straights which coincide with the opening zones of the mobile wings. Coming to the tyres, Pirelli offers the softest compounds in the range, C3, C4 and C5. The asphalt, in fact, is not very abrasive, a characteristic which generally reduces the relevance of thermal degradation in favor of graining, which is particularly suffered by McLaren. The strategies, however, will also depend on overtaking opportunities, another aspect to be discovered after the changes to the regulations. Overall, Miami will be a crucial weekend from many points of view, where we will begin to understand who made the right choices and who didn’t.

Automobile Magazine – F1 English News
2026-04-30 21:30:00