What we learned about the pecking order after the 2026 Miami Grand Prix

After a lengthier than normal break, the F1 circus reconvened in Miami for the second Sprint weekend of the season as the newly upgraded cars broke cover – causing a few changes to the pecking order.

While the sight of Kimi Antonelli standing on the top step of the rostrum is not exactly unusual this season, Mercedes were finally beaten to a win when Lando Norris was victorious in the Sprint.

But it wasn’t just the battle up front that took on a different complexion in Miami, with the midfield also seeing a few shuffles as some upgrades packages did the trick, while others have more work to do…

Mercedes still the team to beat – just

Of the big four teams, Mercedes brought by far the fewest upgrades to Miami. Their planned development program had the first big raft of parts being bolted onto the car for Montreal, and they have stuck to that schedule despite the unexpected break.

They did have tweaks to their front brake ducts and exhaust, but these were expected to buy them a few fractions rather than a big chunk of time.

Their lack of parts coupled with their rivals bringing bigger packages certainly seemed to reduce the deficit the others had to the Silver Arrows, with both Antonelli and George Russell finishing down the order in FP1. That raised eyebrows as Mercedes looked beatable for the first time this year, something seemingly confirmed when Norris took Sprint pole and then won the 19-lap dash, leading home a McLaren 1-2.

With no Mercedes car in the top three, it suddenly looked like game on at the front. But then Antonelli pulled a brilliant lap out of the bag to take pole for the Grand Prix, and went on to win his third race of the season.

Given the respective lack of upgrades, the fact Antonelli was still able to win points to Mercedes enjoying an advantage that might only grow when their own big package of parts arrives. But Norris was firmly of the belief over the radio after the chequered flag that that was a victory McLaren threw away.

One thing was for sure – Mercedes might have won the Miami Grand Prix, but they did not canter away into the distance. Sunday was Antonelli’s narrowest winning margin, as their rivals have very much closed the gap.

McLaren leapfrog Ferrari

Ferrari were the closest challengers to Mercedes at the start of the season, with their drivers scoring a podium in each of the first three races. The Scuderia brought a huge upgrade package to Miami, as did McLaren.

In the early stages of the weekend, it looked like Charles Leclerc was the man to beat but then Norris got into a rhythm and took pole for the Sprint by a healthy margin. In clean air he was able to dominate the dash on Saturday, with Piastri picking off a slow-starting Antonelli to make it a McLaren 1-2.

The upgrades certainly look to have worked for both teams, but McLaren being powered by the Mercedes engine gave them an advantage down the straights, and they certainly seem to be getting more out of their power unit round by round.

Norris came agonisingly close to really challenging Antonelli on Sunday, a slow in-lap combined with being undercut costing him the chance of a win. But while that was disappointing, the overall performance from McLaren across the weekend was nothing but encouraging.

“I think Mercedes still possess a couple of tenths advantage over anybody else, this was most noticeable today in the race,” admitted Andrea Stella afterwards, while Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur said overheating was something that cost Ferrari on Sunday, and reiterated that it will be a “full push” development-wise until the end of the year.

But neither team is giving up, and as both team bosses said, it is still very early in the season with plenty of time to improve.

Red Bull jump back into the mix up front

Red Bull have had arguably the toughest start to the new era of regulations of the big four teams, and have found themselves battling the midfield runners more than their usual rivals.

But their big upgrade package paid dividends in Miami, while their understanding of the RB22 also grew, meaning they could do a better job of optimising the set-up to the liking of both drivers. Max Verstappen was the fastest he has been all year as he put in a storming lap in Qualifying to grab second on the grid.

Were it not for an uncharacteristic spin through Turns 1 and 2, the Dutchman might have found himself in the lead of the race. That is quite the turnaround from his sixth-place in Australia, which was his best result from the first three races.

As it was, the spin removed him from a realistic shot at the podium, but fifth was still a strong result considering how far back he dropped after that first lap incident. The Dutchman was fighting with the Ferraris, McLarens and the Mercedes of Russell on merit – and not looking outclassed.

Laurent Mekies praised “the size of the progress” the team have made after the race, citing their gains over one lap in Qualifying as an obvious place Red Bull have improved since the start of the season.

But while they might be back in the fight with their fellow front runners, Red Bull remains some way off a race win on current form. The next upgrade package cannot arrive quickly enough.

Alpine lead the midfield pack

There were four teams who settled themselves into the midfield fight at the start of the season – Alpine, Haas, Racing Bulls and Audi. But in Miami, it was very clear who out of those four had made the biggest step.

In fairness, Alpine brought the biggest upgrade package, with Haas and Racing Bulls set to bring theirs to Montreal next time out. So they might have expected to be quicker than their rivals, but things went better than expected with both Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto being the only midfield runners to make it to SQ3 and then Q3.

Gasly delivered a P8 in the Sprint for one point, and Colapinto managed a career-best seventh in the Grand Prix to ensure Alpine crept ahead of Haas in the Constructors’. Their Mercedes-powered car looks good down the straights, and the team seem to be developing in the right direction too.

But it could all change when the others bolt on more upgrades next time around.

Williams remain a mystery

The true pace of Williams remains an unknown in 2026. They are faster than Aston Martin and Cadillac, but certainly were not on the pace of the four midfield teams thanks to an overweight car.

When asked about performance prior to the weekend, both Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz were not expecting miracles, especially as all that excess weight has not come off the car – they expect that to be a season-long project.

But they did have some upgrades, and that certainly seemed to help as Williams got both cars into Q2 for the first time this season. From there, they had a solid race and managed to sneak into the points with both cars too, Sainz finishing ninth and Albon P10.

That meant technically they leapfrogged Haas and Racing Bulls for pure performance – no mean feat all things considered.

“It’s great to see the hard work of the last five weeks, and the aero package all adding up, putting us in stronger place than we started the season,” said James Vowles afterwards.

“It’s still a long road, but the positive news is that there’s more performance to come throughout the rest of the season.”

And that bodes well for Williams permanently swelling the four midfield teams into a group of five.