MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Formula 1 returns to action at the Miami Grand Prix following an unexpected five-week break when a pair of races in the Middle East were called off because of the war in Iran.
The time off gave the FIA time to make changes to the regulations that drivers heavily criticized after the first three races of the year because of how the electrical battery power has changed the cars and competition.
Will it help?
“It's a tickle,” said Max Verstappen, who has been so vocal about his dislike of the current cars that he's openly considering leaving F1.
“It's not what we need yet to really make it flat out. It's complicated to get everyone to agree,” he continued. “I just hope for next year we can make really big, big changes. Like I said, it's a tickle, but it needs to be more than a tickle, for sure.”
Drivers won't be able to truly get a feel for the changes until Friday when practice begins, so everything they have learned so far has been limited to simulator work. While the drivers were able to offer opinions on how the FIA should attack the complaints about the car, they aren't sure how much influence they really had.
“The fact is, we don’t have a seat at the table. We do engage with the FIA and F1 more often,” said seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton. "We’re not stakeholders. I say to them, when I was doing the early tests, I was like, ‘You guys should come and speak to us and collaborate with us.’
“We’re like, ‘Speak to us, we’ll work, and we can work together.’ We want this sport to succeed. It’s like small baby steps each time.”
Verstappen acknowledged that the drivers did have quality conversations but there is room for a stronger relationship moving forward.
“The positive thing about it is we have had some nice meetings with Formula 1 and the FIA and I think that’s probably like a starting point,” Verstappen said. "In a few years time, where maybe I’m not here anymore, I’d really hope that for the future drivers as well, there’s more input to come from the drivers to the organizers in general. I do think that most of the drivers here, we have a good understanding and a good feel of what is needed to make Formula 1 a good product, a fun product.
“I think everyone has tried their best to at least do something. But of course, it won’t change the world.”
Upgrades everywhere
The break allowed the 11 teams in the paddock to assess their season after three races and update their cars ahead of Sunday's race. That's another uncertainty the field is attempting to navigate.
“It’s going to be pretty unusual to see so many upgrades on so many different teams,” said Charles Leclerc. “I’m pretty sure most of the people will have kind of new cars for here. Whether it will change significantly the pecking order that we have seen since the beginning of the year, I doubt so.”
The Ferrari driver believes Mercedes will still have the early season control over the rest of the field. George Russell and Kimi Antonelli combined to win the first three races of the season and Antonelli is the current points leader.
“I think the package will make a difference on that, hopefully for us better, but at the point of going and get Mercedes, I think they are, they were too ahead for us to actually get them only with what we are bringing here,” said Leclerc.
Weather concerns
And then there's the added threat of heavy rain on Sunday and the forecast is so unpleasant that it dominated conversation three days before the race.
The National Weather Service is calling for thunderstorms for all of South Florida throughout Sunday, while AccuWeather is showing a 55% chance of thunderstorms on race day. It could disrupt the event because conditions must be stable enough for a medical helicopter to be able to fly when cars are racing, plus the NWS recommends seeking shelter if the delay between thunder and lightning is shorter than 30 seconds.
The NWS recommends waiting at least 30 minutes before leaving shelter and cited Florida as the state that "specifically leads the U.S. in lightning deaths, injuries, and casualties.” The weather service also says lightning is Florida's number one “weather killer.”
“In the wet we are really passengers,” said Leclerc. “In the rain, it’s not about being brave or not. You stay flat out and you hope that no cars in front of you are slower than you and you just assume they are on the same speed as you. So it’s not such a nice feeling.”
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