After a five‑week pause, Formula 1 returned to Miami’s temporary Hard Rock Stadium circuit, a glossy showcase priced up to $95,000 for premium seats. The event marks the sport’s “Liberty era,” trading the original Biscayne Bay bridge concept for a Monaco‑style spectacle. New regulations now allow cars to harvest up to 7 MJ per lap, easing the energy‑starved qualifying that plagued the opening races.

Every team except Aston Martin arrived in Florida with an upgrade package, but McLaren’s latest aero kit proved decisive. The British outfit has finally cracked the correlation problem that once left its CFD gains useless on track, delivering consistent lap‑time gains across three regulation cycles. With that advantage, McLaren surged ahead of Mercedes and forced Ferrari and Red Bull into a tighter four‑way battle.

Sprint qualifying saw Lando Norris on pole, yet the main race unfolded with McLaren locking out a 1‑2 finish as Verstappen’s Red Bull recovered from an early spin. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc led early but slipped after a turn‑three incident, while rookie Kimi Antonelli impressed with a strong start for Mercedes. The event proved the energy‑limit tweak works and that upgrade wars can reshape the championship hierarchy.