By Alan Baldwin
MIAMI, April 29 (Reuters) - Formula One gets back on track in Miami this weekend, after a forced April break, with rule tweaks and car upgrades adding a fresh twist while teenage championship leader Kimi Antonelli chases his third win in a row for Mercedes.
The first U.S. race of the sport's new era is the fourth round of the 2026 season after grands prix in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia had to be shelved due to the Iran war and fallout in the Gulf region.
In the absence of cars on track,
the development race has continued at full speed with teams seeking to close the gap to early leaders Mercedes and end their run of three wins in three.
Champions McLaren, last year's winners in Miami in both the Saturday 100km sprint and Sunday race with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri respectively, have said they will bring a "completely new car" while Ferrari and Red Bull have also been pushing hard to bring performance.
"Last year (Miami) was one of our best tracks of the season in terms of pace compared to others," said Norris of the circuit around the Hard Rock Stadium.
"It's a different track and it might still just suit the car a little bit more than some other places."
NO WINNER FROM POLE IN FOUR EDITIONS
There has yet to be a winner from a front row start in Miami, after four editions to date, and it is also a rare circuit where Mercedes have yet to triumph.
Reigning champion Norris took his first career win there in 2024 and also won last year's sprint before having to settle for second in the main race behind Piastri. Before them, Red Bull's four-times world champion Max Verstappen won in 2022 and 2023.
Antonelli made headlines last year when the Italian, then 18, became the youngest pole-sitter in any F1 format after sprint qualifying and he returns with the hype ramping up back home.
The sprint format, with added points to be won on Saturday, could also see the pendulum swing back in favour of Antonelli's teammate George Russell, who won the opening race in Australia but is now nine points behind and in need of better luck.
"Now we're all equally recharged," said Russell of the break. "I've just used (put) this time to good use, spent a lot of time with the team... the (car's) performance looks very strong. So, hoping to continue where we left off.
"I think the field will slowly bunch up, but I don't think you're going to suddenly see any drastic changes."
The rules tweak, agreed by all after a series of meetings, are intended to improve both the racing and safety as a result of the new engines and the wide differences in speed as some drivers slow to harvest energy while others boost the power at their disposal to get ahead.
"The two main things we wanted addressing was reinstating that (flat-out) challenge in qualifying and making things more natural in the way it should be in qualifying and being able to reduce the closing speeds and the speed differences in the race in unexpected places," said Piastri.
"We'll have to wait and see if we need further changes. I think we probably had ideas of other things that you could change. But they're not things you can change from one weekend to the next."
The race at the Hard Rock Stadium will be a home debut for newcomers Cadillac, represented on track by experienced Mexican Sergio Perez and Finland's Valtteri Bottas, with the General Motors-backed team sporting a special U.S.-themed livery.
(Reporting by Alan BaldwinEditing by Christian Radnedge)
