F1 Miami Grand Prix FIA trial could threaten Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari season

An FIA flag edited on a backdrop of a neon blue Miami palm tree — Photo: © IMAGO

Miami Grand Prix

Miami Grand Prix FIA trial could threaten Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari season

The Miami GP will see a new trial

Originally written by Sam Cook. This version is a translation.

Wednesday 29 April 2026 19:00

The FIA will trial something different at the Miami Grand Prix, and it could spell bad news for Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton has been enjoying some fast starts so far this year in his Ferrari that have allowed him to get himself into the mix for race victories, before ultimately falling behind the dominant Mercedes cars.

The same could be said of Charles Leclerc too, and the two drivers have ensured that there's been a Ferrari on the podium in every race so far.

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The team are understood to have told the FIA last year that race starts could be a problem amid the new power unit regulations, and developed their own power unit to be excellent at race starts.

Many of the other power unit manufacturers, however, have struggled with their starts, including Mercedes, despite being the dominant outfit on the grid.

During FP1 in Miami, a new start procedure will be tested which provides MGU-K assistance to cars who are about to stall, as a safety measure to ensure that faster cars do not need to take as much avoiding action if a car struggles ahead of them.

The measure has not been completely signed off for grands prix yet, and it is not designed to give a sporting advantage to bad starters, just prevent them from stalling.

However for Ferrari, who have been nailing their starts at all races so far in 2026, some of the competitive advantage will be lost over their rivals, if the measures are implemented following the FP1 trial.

What have the FIA said about proposed changes?

FIA single-seater chief Nikolas Tombazis explained to Crash.net how the new proposed measures will not provide a sporting advantage to power unit manufacturers who are struggling with their starts.

"Basically, there's a detection of how well the car is accelerating after small amount of time after the start," he said.

"And if that is below a certain threshold, then it kicks in. Just to give you reference points, I think it would have intervened this year on two or three occasions total. I don't think it would have intervened, for example, with Verstappen’s bad start [in China].

"It would have certainly intervened in Liam Lawson start in Australia, no doubt about that. I think the Verstappen start in China would not have been in that threshold of intervention."

Lawson's start has been one of the most talked about instances so far off the line in 2026, with the New Zealander admitting that he began 'bracing' for a huge impact from behind.

Many drivers behind the 24-year-old were forced to take avoiding action in order to avoid a collision.

F1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Mercedes FIA Miami Grand Prix