After five long weeks, we can finally say it’s race week again in Formula 1.
As the grid observed an impromptu spring break due to the cancellation of the Saudi Arabian and Bahrain grands prix, we’re set to finally see cars out on track – along with some new adjustments.
Both the teams and governing body have been busy tweaking the F1 regulations after many in the paddock were vocal about their distaste to the 2026 cars.
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The five week break handed most teams a much-needed opportunity to go back to the drawing board and see what they could improve for the next 18 races.
As McLaren admitted they will be bringing a “completely new car” to Miami and Montreal, the team’s leadership are still heeding a warning from a controversial race nearly a year and a half ago.
Daniel Ricciardo and Zak Brown worked together through the Aussie’s time at McLaren. Getty
McLaren CEO Zak Brown has been increasingly against the prospect of Mercedes purchasing the 24 per cent stake currently up for sale in the Alpine F1 team.
Otro Capital – an investment group featuring major sports names such as Patrick Mahomes, Rory McIlroy and Anthony Joshua – has been searching for buyers for its stake.
Brown fears that if Mercedes take ownership, they will use Alpine as a sister team.
This is not a new dynamic in F1, Red Bull bought Minardi in 2005 to create Toro Rosso, now Racing Bulls.
This A-B team structure has influenced championships over the years. Most recently, Daniel Ricciardo helped Max Verstappen steal a championship point from Lando Norris by setting the fastest lap of the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix.
Daniel Ricciardo was thanked by the Red Bull crew after he strategically took a point off Lando Norris. Getty
Red Bull openly acknowledged the strategic choice to use their sister team in that instance, with Verstappen publicly thanking Ricciardo.
Brown, who was Ricciardo’s boss during his time at McLaren, took aim at this strategic act in conversation with Sky Sports, illustrating his wider distaste for A and B teams in Formula 1.
“I’ve been saying for 10 years, I don’t like co-ownership,” Brown explained.
“I don’t like A-B teams. I think it runs a high risk of compromising the sporting integrity of the sport.
“We’ve seen fastest laps from one team. You know, Daniel Ricciardo (taking) a point away from McLaren to help Max Verstappen and Red Bull.”
Despite the off-track politics, McLaren have been hard at work back in the Woking factory, searching for upgrades.
Team principal Andrea Stella is confident in their advancements over the break, particularly following the slight peak in performance during Oscar Piastri’s podium in Japan.
Oscar Piastri’s podium in Japan gave lift to McLaren’s performance. Formula 1 via Getty Images
“Our intent was always to deliver sort of a completely new car, especially from an aerodynamic upgrades point of view, for the North American races,” said Stella.
“The fact that the calendar changed helped a little, like, I’m sure it helped all the other teams that could work more streamlined towards upgrading the car, rather than being busy with racing.
“I can say that, overall, across Miami and Canada, we will see an entirely new MCL40. Again, I would like to stress that this is what I would expect of most of our competitors.
“It will effectively be just a check of who has been able to add more performance within the same timeframe.
“We also have some performance to recover, if we look at Mercedes and, to some extent, Ferrari as well.
“But we are quite happy with the development that we’ve been able to manage, like I said before, in the background.
McLaren are set to unveil a “completely new car” in Miami. NurPhoto via Getty Images
“So hopefully, we should be able to see a slightly more competitive MCL40 in Miami and then in Canada, considering that the last race was already a decent competitive performance in Japan.”
While the sound of “regulation changes” and entirely “new cars” has fans excited to see a new breed of racing in North America, F1 commentator and former race winner David Coulthard urged patience.
He admitted that because of Miami’s circuit layout around Hard Rock Stadium, fans will need to temper their expectations as it’s unlikely they will see a visible difference in performance this weekend.
“What’s going to be interesting to see is, and I think in Miami, we won’t necessarily see the results of these changes because of the nature of the race track there,” he explained on the Up To Speed podcast.
Miami’s track layout may not give fans a idea of what the new changes have achieved. Getty
“A lot of slow and medium speed corners.
“There isn’t really anything big and meaty, an iconic section of corners where you go, ‘Wow, I really saw the driver or the car do something special.’
“So, I think we have to give it a few races.”