After the Miami Grand Prix, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff defended the new Formula 1 regulations, praising the improved spectacle and the intensity of on-track battles. His comments highlight a degree of truth regarding the current direction of the sport, but they also raise an important question: is this really a genuine breakthrough in performance and racing quality, or is it still partly an illusion created by a particularly favorable circuit? The American track in Miami is known to be one of the more accommodating layouts for the current generation of regulations, and as a result it may have hidden several underlying limitations. Let’s try to understand why.
“If there is even one person today saying something or complaining about the race, I think they should hide themselves. Obviously this track is a bit easier, it is not so demanding from an energy point of view. There are good races and less good races, but this has been great publicity for F1. Those talking about changing engine regulations in the short term should question how they evaluate Formula 1,” said Toto Wolff.
At the end of the Miami race, likely one of the most eventful editions since the Grand Prix joined the calendar, the Mercedes Team Principal did not hide his opinion on the widespread criticism directed at modern Formula 1. The current generation of cars has often been accused of being too artificial, largely due to the extreme importance of energy management systems, which can limit driver creativity, especially in qualifying conditions where every tenth of a second matters.
For this reason, based on what emerged in the opening three races of the season, some regulatory adjustments were introduced in Miami aimed at reducing the need for extreme techniques such as superclipping and lift and coast during qualifying laps. The objective was also to reduce speed differences during wheel-to-wheel battles, which in certain situations had become too pronounced, as demonstrated by the incident involving Oliver Bearman at Suzuka.
Historically, Miami has not been known for producing highly spectacular races or a large number of overtaking opportunities, mainly due to a layout that combines long straights with sections where following another car closely is particularly difficult. However, under the 2026 regulations, overtaking moves were not absent. In fact, the dynamic of overtakes and counter-overtakes generated by energy management systems proved in some phases to be even more effective than DRS, which is exactly what Formula 1 had hoped to achieve.
This continuous exchange of position changes, even within the limitations of a circuit that traditionally offers limited action, similar in some respects to Suzuka, led Wolff to highlight the entertainment value of the 2026 regulations. His position is fully aligned with Formula 1’s official stance, as the sport has repeatedly defended the new technical cycle precisely because it is capable of producing battles even on tracks where overtaking was previously rare.
Ultimately, Formula 1 also targets a broad global audience, which tends to prefer dynamic and unpredictable races over processional events. On this point, Wolff is not wrong. Overall, Miami did deliver a more controlled weekend: less superclipping, less lift and coast, and a smaller reduction in top speed at the end of straights compared to previous Grands Prix. But is this entirely due to the latest regulatory tweaks? And more importantly, is everything as positive as it appears? Not quite.
To understand why, it is necessary to look at the amount of energy that can be recovered per lap. With the latest regulatory revision, the FIA reduced the minimum energy threshold to 7 MJ, but this value does not apply equally to all circuits. For example, as Wolff explained, it was already known from the beginning that Miami would be a particularly favorable track in this regard.
Despite the limit being reduced by 1 MJ compared to initial expectations, it was still possible in qualifying at Miami to recover up to 8 MJ, which is the maximum allowed under the regulations. In addition to this, another key factor played an even more decisive role: the layout itself offered not only strong energy recovery zones but also several areas where the MGU-K could be switched off to save energy.
Looking at the circuit profile, it becomes clear that from Turn 4 to Turn 8, the fast sequence in the first sector, and from Turn 11 to Turn 16, the slowest part of the track, the FIA allowed teams to run without electric deployment in order to preserve energy. These are two extensive zones, significantly larger than what was seen at previous Grands Prix. At Suzuka, for example, the restriction applied mainly only to the “S” section.
This naturally helped energy management, allowing drivers to arrive at the two long straights with a nearly fully charged battery. For this reason, both in qualifying and in the race, the drop in performance once entering derating or superclipping phases was less severe compared to other circuits.
However, all of this was influenced more by the circuit characteristics than by the latest regulatory changes introduced specifically for Miami. Drivers were able to rely on heavily charged batteries thanks to frequent braking zones in the slow section between Turn 11 and Turn 16, which allowed significant energy recovery. In addition, during the race, maximum power output was limited from Turn 1 to the end of the first sector to 250 kW for safety reasons, which further contributed to energy savings.
In essence, excluding the straights where derating occurred, on a track that is favorable in at least one third of its layout during the race, the MGU-K often operated at reduced capacity or did not deploy energy at all. While these hybrid power units are extremely fascinating from a technical perspective, this also exposes their limitations. To function within this formula, these power units must often operate below their full potential, which means there is still significant room for development and improvement.
For a Formula 1 championship aiming for increasingly spectacular racing and more overtaking opportunities, Wolff’s comments do capture a valid point: this early phase of the technical cycle can attract a segment of the audience looking for that type of entertainment, regardless of whether it is fully artificial or not. For Formula 1 as a global product seeking continued expansion, this represents an ideal scenario.
However, it is also true that Miami is not yet a definitive benchmark for the true strength and consistency of these regulations. The changes introduced have had an effect and clearly represent a step in the right direction, but the circuit itself has likely masked certain weaknesses that will reappear more clearly on more demanding tracks. As Lando Norris explained, “it is a small step in the right direction, but it is not yet at the level Formula 1 should be at. You still cannot push at maximum. If you do, you will still be penalized.”
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