Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent in Miami

I think it's a really interesting dynamic at Mercedes. Antonelli has really stepped it up this year but he's also been quite lucky. Russell had a technical problem in China qualifying and then had another one in Japan, and Antonelli got lucky with the safety car in the grand prix. It's only three races with 19 to go. We're going to see the mettle of both of them and Russell has been in Formula 1 a lot longer than Antonelli but at the same time you could see why they both feel pressure.

Image source, Reuters

The rear of Lando Norris' car is slipping and sliding as the reigning world champion sets off on another lap around the Miami circuit.

With other cars improving around him, Norris now finds himself fourth on the timesheets and 0.355 seconds off the leading driver, which is the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.

The Monegasque man has clocked a 1:29.855 on his latest hard-tyre run, with teenager Kimi Antonelli more than two tenths behind in P2 and Leclerc's Scuderia team-mate Lewis Hamilton third fastest.

Rebecca Clancy
F1 journalist on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra in Miami

I don't think the pecking order is going to change that much. It's great to see Antonelli up there. There are question marks over his ability to sustain the momentum he had going into this break. It's really interesting to see how he's come out here.

McLaren were on the podium in Japan thanks to Oscar Piastri's second place at Suzuka and the team are heavily upgraded for the return in Miami this weekend as they look to close the gap on leaders Mercedes.

Lando Norris is the quicker of the two papaya cars so far and cuts Kimi Antonelli's pace advantage down to 0.129 seconds on his latest run on the hard compound.

"Lando has been on it from the moment go," McLaren CEO Zak Brown tells Sky Sports from the pit wall.

1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) - 1:30.079

2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.217

3. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.256

4. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.386

5. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +0.796

Jennie Gow
F1 pit-lane reporter in Miami

Eleven parts have been upgraded on the Ferrari, which is the most of anyone. The least of anyone is Aston Martin who have no upgrades while Haas have one upgrade.

George Russell is down in eighth place on the timesheets and the Briton runs wide at Turn One on his latest lap. Russell has been pegged as the title favourite this season but for now, he's having to battle his younger team-mate for the best seat in the championship house.

Another tour of Miami complete and Russell moves to sixth on the board, nearly a second adrift of Kimi Antonelli.

Aston Martin have released Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso from the garage to join the rest of the field. The good news for the team is first practice is 30 minutes longer this weekend, so there's wiggle room to work on any issues before tonight's sprint qualifying session.

Meanwhile, the times at the top are changing again.

Title leader Kimi Antonelli, who took sprint pole in Miami last year, has put his Mercedes ahead of Charles Leclerc by 0.217 seconds. Lando Norris moves down to third place, with Max Verstappen in fourth, just above seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

Image source, Reuters

Charles Leclerc tries to wrangle in his Ferrari around Turn 11 while his team-mate Lewis Hamilton goes second on the timesheets with a time of 1:30.875. The seven-time world champion's marker is still half a second away from title holder Lando Norris' best time banked a few moments ago.

Oliver Bearman is putting down the laps in the Haas and is ninth on the timesheets. The Briton told the media yesterday he's absolutely fine after his high-speed crash at Suzuka before the break and was back on the simulator a few days later.

Jennie Gow
F1 pit-lane reporter in Miami

If you look into the Aston Martin garage right now, the screens are blank which means they don't have any real power going into the garage. They are the only garage affected at the moment.

Eight laps on the board and reigning world champion Lando Norris is leading the Red Bull of Max Verstappen by more than three tenths. The McLaren driver, on the hard compound, crosses the line for lap number nine and puts more distance between himself and Dutchman, clocking a 1:30.335 to go seven tenths clear.

George Russell is back on the phone to Mercedes to elaborate on his turbo troubles. The Briton says the car sounds like a steam train and then performs an excellent impression to help out his pit wall. Choo choo.

Image source, Getty Images

Aston Martin are a team who definitely need a reset following a nightmare start to the new rules in Formula 1. Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso are yet to score any points this season and the team haven't brought any upgrades to the Miami Grand Prix.

With this being a sprint weekend, time on track is precious for teams and drivers, especially after a month away. But once again, Aston Martin seem on the backfoot and both Stroll and Alonso are stuck in the garage during the opening stages of this sole practice session.

Over at Alpine, Pierre Gasly is on the team radio saying it "smells very strange in the car", while at Mercedes, Australian Grand prix winner George Russell tells his pit wall to check the turbo.

Image source, Getty Images

The tweaks to the rules have been met with a mixed reviews from the drivers, with four-time world champion Max Verstappen calling it "a tickle" rather than a major shift.

"It's not what we need yet to really make it flat out," said the Dutchman. "Like I said, it's complicated to get everything to agree. I just hope that next year we can make really big, big changes."

World champion Lando Norris said the drivers are happy with the changes, as there was only so much that could be done with the regulations, adding: "The race really isn't going to be that different. So some things are not going to change that much, and the qualifying should be a bit more flat-out qualifying-style laps, which is a nice thing.

Pirelli have brought the softest compounds in the range to the Sunshine State this weekend, with the C3 as the hard, the C4 as the medium and the C5 as the soft.

As this is a sprint in Miami, teams will have only 12 sets of tyres available rather than the usual 13. The green intermediates and blue full wets have also made the journey, should they be needed, which they probably will on Sunday.

The hard compound is bolted on for the majority of the field early doors - Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas of Cadillac are on the mediums - and Lando Norris is quickest overall with a 1:30.688 from Max Verstappen and McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent in Miami

Image source, Getty Images

Formula 1 has made a series of rule changes to address concerns about the new engine regulations that were introduced for this season.

The amount of energy management required with the new power-units, which have a near 50-50 split between internal combustion and electrical power and require significant energy management, has led to complaints from the drivers that their skills were being diminished.

A series of complex technical tweaks have been made with two main aims - to return qualifying to a more flat-out challenge for the drivers, and to reduce closing speeds during racing.

The changes have been targeted at reducing what have been described as "counter-intuitive" driving techniques, such as lifting off and coasting before corners in qualifying to charge the battery.

The other key focus was reducing the likelihood of speed differentials caused when one car is deploying all its 350kW (470bhp) of electrical power and another is deploying none because it is charging its battery.

I say rejoice, we may have to prepare ourselves for some possible delays on Sunday.

The skies have been dry so far in 2026 but Miami could be up the first wet race of the campaign. And not just a few light showers - thundery weather to boot.

Drivers have expressed safety concerns because no-one really knows how these new cars will react in slippery conditions and poor visability, so F1 and the FIA are keeping tabs on the forecast.

Charles Leclerc said: "The weird thing about these cars in the wet is that you might end up going much faster at the end of the straight than you do on the dry conditions because you don't have that engine cut because you're not using as much energy.

"You can find yourself in tricky situations, especially if drivers are driving with different power unit strategies."

For today's practice and sprint qualifying, the weather is warm, dry and toasty with temperatures about 32C.

Cars are heading out of the pit lane. Rejoice!

Put 90 minutes on the clock and let's see what Friday in Miami has in store for us.

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Sounds

Welcome to Jennie Gow, Harry Benjamin, F1 journalist Rebecca Clancy and F1 correspondent Andrew Benson for Friday's first practice.

Click the 'listen live' tab at the top of this page, ask your smart speaker to "play BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra" or tune in via the BBC Sounds app if you're out and about tonight.

Image source, FIA

The teams have been busy in the factories getting to grips with the tweaks to the rules while the track action was on hiatus and this weekend's grand prix will feature a long list of upgrades across the paddock.

McLaren's package is set to be stacked for May's two races in Miami and Canada, while Ferrari are also heavy with a fair few updates for the first race in the United States, too. So, can the two teams rival leaders Mercedes and put some wins on the board before the European leg of the campaign begins in June?

Mercedes

Tailpipe, front corner.

Ferrari

Front wing endplate, front corner, front suspension, floor body, floor edge, diffuser, rear suspension, beam wing, rear tail, rear wing, rear wing endplate.

McLaren

Front corner, coke/engine cover, sidepod inlet, cooling louvres, floor body, rear corner, rear wing.

Haas

Diffuser.

Alpine

Front corner, nose camera, rear suspension, rear impact structure, rear wing, rear wing endplate.

Red Bull

Front wing, front corner, sidepod inlet, coke/engine cover, floor, rear corner, rear wing.

Racing Bulls

Rear corner, rear suspension, floor edge, rear wing, rear wing endplate, front wing.

Audi

Front suspension, floor edge diffuser.

Williams

Floor, sidepod, bodywork - engine cover/coke/cooling exits, mirror assembly, tailpipe bracket, RIS fairings, rear brace wing.

Cadillac

Front wing endplate, front wing flap, mirror stay, forward floorboard, floor body, diffuser, rear suspension, rear corner, exhaust tailpipe bracket.

Mercedes have been the team to beat in this new era of Formula 1, taking victory at every race and sprint event so far. The Silver Arrows are 45 points clear of Ferrari in second place, with constructors' champions McLaren in third, 89 points adrift of the top spot.

Red Bull's difficult start to the season sees them looking up at the likes of Alpine in fifth and Haas in fourth, while newcomers Cadillac and Aston Martin, who have struggled since pre-season, are yet to get off the mark this year.

Image source, Getty Images