The 2026 Formula 1 season has been carried by Mercedes through three rounds and a five-week break, and the Miami Grand Prix on May 3 is the first chance to see whether the rest of the grid has closed the gap. Round six runs Friday May 1 through Sunday May 3 at the Miami International Autodrome inside the Hard Rock Stadium complex in Miami Gardens. The 19-turn, 5.41-kilometer street layout sits inside the parking lot of the Dolphins stadium and the race covers 57 laps for a total distance of 308.326 kilometers. Sunday's main race goes green at 4 p.m. Eastern on ABC.
This is the season's second sprint weekend, which compresses the schedule and changes how teams approach the event. Friday opens with a single 90-minute practice from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Eastern, followed by sprint qualifying from 4:30 to 5:14 p.m. Saturday features the 100-kilometer sprint race at noon Eastern, followed by qualifying for the main race at 4 p.m. Sunday is just the race. Teams have one practice session to dial in setup, which favors organizations with strong simulator correlation and pre-event preparation. The sprint format also rewards drivers who can extract pace immediately without burning tires through long runs.
Kimi Antonelli enters Miami leading the drivers' championship after consecutive wins in China and Japan. The 19-year-old Italian holds a 9-point lead over teammate George Russell, with Mercedes posting wins in all three opening rounds and 1-2 finishes in two of them. Charles Leclerc sits third for Ferrari at 28 points behind Antonelli, with Lando Norris fourth for McLaren and Max Verstappen fifth for Red Bull. Verstappen's 2026 Red Bull is reportedly down on straight-line performance compared to the Mercedes power unit, and Miami's three long DRS zones will expose that gap if it persists. Adrian Newey's debut Aston Martin chassis sits sixth in the constructors standings and the team is bringing a significant aerodynamic upgrade package to Miami.
Miami sits in a unique tier among the U.S. races. The Las Vegas Grand Prix in November draws the most casino-driven hospitality spend, the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in October draws the most traditional racing fans, and Miami sits between them as the celebrity-driven event. Hard Rock Stadium hosts roughly 285,000 attendees across the three days, ticket revenue runs north of $145 million according to circuit operator data, and the broadcast on ABC reaches an audience that has averaged 1.8 million U.S. viewers across the prior three Miami races. ESPN holds U.S. broadcast rights through 2027 and is in active discussions with Liberty Media about an extension.
Weather and track temperature are the variables to watch this weekend. Miami in early May historically runs in the upper 80s with high humidity and afternoon thunderstorm risk. The 2024 race ran in 90-degree ambient temperatures with track surface readings above 130. Tire degradation pushed strategies toward two-stop races. Pirelli has brought the C3, C4, and C5 compounds for Miami, the same selection as 2025. Teams that nail tire warm-up on the medium and hard will have flexibility on strategy. The C5 soft is expected to be a qualifying-only tire given the surface temperatures.
Bet markets opened with Antonelli at 7-2 and Russell at 4-1, with Verstappen at 6-1 and Leclerc at 7-1. The interesting line is the constructors' implied probability for Mercedes, which sits at 1.4-1, suggesting a roughly 70 percent chance Mercedes wins again. Miami's run from pole stat is one of the cleanest in the modern calendar. The pole sitter has won three of the prior four Miami races and led at least one lap in all four. Sprint format adds a wrinkle for teams running revised setups, but the underlying track favors qualifying performance.
For viewers in the United States, the full weekend airs on ESPN family of networks. Practice and sprint qualifying are on ESPN2. The sprint race and main qualifying are on ABC. Sunday's grand prix is on ABC starting at 3:30 p.m. Eastern with race start at 4. Spanish-language coverage runs on ESPN Deportes. F1 TV Pro, the league's direct subscription product, carries every session live with onboard cameras and team radio. Race-day attendance is sold out, and resale tickets in the secondary market range from $480 for grandstands to $2,400 for grid club access according to TickPick data pulled April 25.