F1 Miami Grand Prix: Late FIA change gives McLaren lifeline against Mercedes

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Miami Grand Prix

Late FIA change at Miami GP gives McLaren lifeline against Mercedes

McLaren's chances of the F1 title are assessed ahead of the Miami Grand Prix this weekend

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Thursday 30 April 2026 09:57

The FIA's cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix could work in McLaren's favour at this weekend's F1 Miami Grand Prix.

F1's decision to cancel the two races in April has pressed pause on the 2026 championship, which looked entirely in favour of Mercedes with both George Russell and Kimi Antonelli dominating the opening three rounds.

However, the upcoming Miami Grand Prix has been branded as one of Formula 1's biggest ever mid-season resets, with most teams expected to bring upgrades.

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One such team is McLaren, who have the monster Mercedes power unit in their car, and whose upgrades have proved fruitful in the past in Miami, with Lando Norris securing his first race win at the track in 2024.

F1 HEADLINES: FIA make Miami GP change as race threatened by thunderstorms

Can McLaren win at Miami Grand Prix?

Despite a disappointing start to the season, in which Oscar Piastri failed to start the opening two rounds, McLaren and the Aussie returned to the podium in Japan.

On the F1 Nation podcast, host Tom Clarkson asked whether McLaren could win in Miami and co-host Jolyon Palmer suggested that the race cancellations could work in their favour.

"They feel confident heading to this race," Palmer explained. "All the talk is new car. They've preset Miami as an upgrade chance anyway, which they did a couple of years ago when Norris got his first win with a massively upgraded car. And they've done a similar thing this year.

"I think they knew they were on the back foot on the back of last season pushing so hard for the title. So they sort of were getting through those first races and then Miami was going to be a target.

"Now it's obviously better for them that the two Middle Eastern races didn't happen because they've got that deficit. I don't know if they'll win. I don't know if they'll be able to fight, but they have got the Mercedes power unit that they're getting closer and more on top of. And that extra 30 minutes of free practice, I think, could be so important for them with the amount of upgrades we're expecting on the car.

"I think we'll see this weekend if they can fight for the title. I think we'll see really if they're going to be close enough, because if they don't make enough strides here, then I don't think they'll catch up over the year."

F1 Mercedes McLaren FIA Miami Grand Prix Jolyon Palmer