Everyone brought their biggest upgrade packages of the season to Miami. Ferrari. McLaren. Red Bull. Williams. Nine teams showed up with new parts, new floors, new wings and the F1 2026 Miami development race had its first real test. Mercedes brought almost nothing. And still took the win.In this dive we take a look at who brought the upgrades, who gained most from them and who did not make the full use of them.
Miami was a true test after the first three races, where it was clear Mercedes were the dominant car in every way, which can be read in our latest analysis This weekend changed that.
So from a upgrade perspective, this is the overview:
The top teams focused on bringing total packages, improving either aero load or aero efficiency. The distinction matters: more downforce for cornering versus more downforce without the drag penalty.
Weight reduction was the other major theme unsurprising given Williams, Red Bull and Cadillac were among the heaviest cars in Japan. We covered the correlation between weight and cornering performance in our last piece. Miami was always going to be a reckoning for those teams.
Both Ferrari and Red Bull debuted their Macarena wings, the rear wing concept that rotates to reduce drag on straights. Interestingly, the two solutions rotate in opposite directions. Mercedes surprisingly did not bring any significant upgrades to the Miami GP, while they knew their competitors did.
This is where the development race became strategic and Mercedes took a calculated risk. This comes down to two things:
- Mercedes came out of Japan with quite the advantage in pace.
- Every week you work on an upgrade, the more performance you might find on it before deploying it.
Mercedes don’t need to win the race with a 16 sec. gap, they just need to win by a margin to get the points for the team. They knew the other teams would be bringing big upgrades, but they took a gamble on the cushion they had in pace and bought themselves two extra weeks of development on their upgrades. Bringing upgrades to a track is not cheap and is included in the cost cap.
Aston Martin did not bring any upgrades as well as it would not make any sense for them to make the car more aero efficient, as the car is not hitting its maximum capabilities in the corners due to the engine being downtuned. They need the engine to perform reliable, before focusing on the chassis of the car, which some people believe is quite powerful when it is unleashed.
The grid came closer in Miami
To gain an understanding of how the grid has changed after the first big package of developments, we turn our look backwards to how it was going into Miami and put our trust in the clean adjusted lap pace. (Link to old article). Almost every team made real progress. Almost.
McLaren had a new car at Miami, Andrea Stella called it a new car. That’s not hyperbole. McLaren brought seven upgrades including a new floor and revised aero package. Norris won the sprint, Piastri finished second in the race with arguably the more impressive driving performance of the two. The car worked.
Mercedes did not bring any major changes to the car, as stated above they are bringing them in Canada. Antonelli delivered the whole weekend, and had really come to show his driving skill. He is still struggling with the starts and by that had a lockup into turn 1 of the race. However he recovered and did a great undercut which led him to the final flag. There is speculation Russel will come back at him when we reach the European races. However it is hard to say, because Antonelli know those track just as well. I think the point Russel is trying to make it that he likes more traditionel race tracks.
Ferrari had substantial upgrades as well, they made it clear they have the best race starts once again. Furthermore the upgrades they brought to Miami set them apart in the corners, where they had the best car in qualifying. Ferrari weakness throughout the season until fixed, will be the engine. If they can increase the output, they are able to get back. Charles had a great race until it was clear on the straights that the advantage from Mercedes and McLaren were so large. Hamilton’s pace was damaged by a lap 1 incident. Ferrari will gain a better hand the shorter the straights are.
Red Bull went straight into Miami as a midfielder and came out as an almost frontrunner. It was clear they had issues in the first three races which they were able to get a top on. One of them were balancing issues and predictability. Verstappen made a great qualifying performance, and also did an impressive long stint on hard courts which I think was the right call. The performance of the car was shown by Hadjar who on hard tyres were able to fight himself through the field.
Alpine brought few but impactful upgrades, they are now clear midfield leader and in Miami it showed. They got both cars in top Q3 (top 10) and on clean fuel adjusted laptimes they showed a general good pace.
Williams had the most overweight car in Japan, however they have focused on weight cutting the car and improving its overall balance. In Miami they were able to fight properly in the midfield. They clearly have made a step in the correct direction. Miami is as well a good track for them, Williams have historically made a car which is fast on the straights.
Audi and Haas did not bring any significant upgrades for this weekend. However Audi struggled through the weekend with a car on fire in the Sprint and a race retirement from Hulkenberg. In five competitive sessions, they failed to get both cars on the grid three times. Haas is slipping away as they did not bring any clear upgrades.
Racing Bulls stated they with their new upgrades wanted to lead the midfield, but that did not materialise. Lawson caused a Gasly incident and retired and Lindblad had a qualifying disaster in 14th. I think this is a weekend for Racing Bulls to forget.
The most damning result belongs to Cadillac . Nine upgrades – the second-highest count on the grid and both cars finished a lap down. That’s not a bad weekend. That’s a fundamental question about whether the upgrades are actually working, or whether they truely understand the issues of the car. Weight cuts mean very little if the baseline car has deeper structural issues.
Aston Martin brought nothing and gained nothing. Until the engine situation is resolved, there’s nothing to analyse.
The clearest proof of Ferrari’s upgrade direction and show of their weakness came from the Leclerc vs. Piastri. Below chart highlights the overall average telemetry data between Leclerc and Piastri, showcasing how and where Piastri gained on Leclerc over time in the second stint.
T1–3 and T11–16 – Ferrari dominates. Every straight – McLaren’s Mercedes engine claws it back. That trade-off is Ferrari’s season in miniature: the best chassis window on the grid, strangled by engine output. The shorter the straights, the more dangerous they become. Again this could be to setup modifications, however I think Ferrari already in Japan had a quite good aerodynamic car on par with Mercedes, but they took it to another level in Miami.
The cornering also comes to show in qualifications where Ferrari were dominating the slow corners.
Concluding remarks going into Canada
Miami answered one question and opened three more. Mercedes can absorb a development blitz and still win, but by how much less than before? Ferrari have found something real in the corners, but can they find engine output before the calendar runs out of slow tracks? And Red Bull: genuinely back, or one good weekend in a sea of uncertainty? Canada will tell us. Mercedes are bringing their delayed upgrade package. The cushion gets stress-tested properly for the first time