Miami Grand Prix rescheduled as new start time confirmed | F1 | Sport
The Miami Grand Prix will start three hours earlier than originally planned after Formula 1 and the FIA agreed to make a last-minute change to the schedule. The move has been made to mitigate against the threat posed to the race by thunderstorms that are forecast in south Florida later on Sunday.
As they did for the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix in similar circumstances, the sport’s bosses have chosen to bring the scheduled start time for the race forward. Instead of 4pm local time on the east coast of the United States, 9pm in the UK, the race is now set to start at 1pm in Miami and 6pm in Britain.
A joint statement from F1, the FIA and the Miami Grand Prix promoter read: “Following discussions between FIA, FOM and the Miami promoter, the decision has been taken to move the start of Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix to 13:00 local time in Miami due to the weather forecast that is expected to bring heavier rainstorms later in the afternoon close to the original planned race start time.
“This decision has been taken to ensure the least amount of disruption to the race, and to ensure the maximum possible window to complete the Grand Prix in the best conditions and to prioritise the safety of drivers, fans, teams and staff.”
The much earlier start time for the main event has also meant several changes to the support race schedule. The Formula 2 feature race is now set to get under way at 9:25am local time, after the McLaren Trophy America support race at 8am, while the Porsche Carrera Cup North America race has been cancelled in order to make room for the other series.
Kimi Antonelli is set to start the F1 Grand Prix on pole position after an excellent first lap of Q3 which was good enough to beat all his rivals’ second efforts. Max Verstappen was the only pole contender who went quicker with his final run, but still found himself almost two-tenths off the pace set by the Mercedes teenager.
That was the climax to a day which earlier saw defending F1 world champion Lando Norris take his first victory of 2026. He won Saturday’s Sprint race from pole position, leading a McLaren one-two with team-mate Oscar Piastri close behind. Charles Leclerc was third, marking the first time this year that Mercedes have failed to finish a race with at least one of their drivers in the top three.
Sprint winner Norris said: “It was the perfect way to start the weekend. It was hot out there, it was sweaty, but I was still pushing. The car is clearly working significantly better. It’s more consistent, more predictable in certain circumstances which is a good thing in any speed or corner… We’ve taken a good step forward.”
