Nate SaundersMay 2, 2026, 08:05 PM ETCloseFollow on XMultiple Authors
Formula 1 has moved the start time of Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix forward by three hours because of forecasts of heavy thunderstorms and rain.
Miami’s race is 57 laps long, while Formula 1’s rules say a race can have an active run time of two hours maximum.
There’s no guarantee the race will actually get going at the new time, but the time change will allow the governing FIA and F1 to attempt to complete as much as the race as possible in the conditions.
Wet races are often stop-start affairs, with the conditions creating a higher chance of crashes and red flags, which means a race is suspended.
Forecasts all week have suggested a heavy deluge on Sunday — and even thunderstorms — and the 4 p.m. start time left a narrow window, given that sunset in Miami is currently at 7:42 p.m.
There appears to be no obvious window in the day when the weather might be better, although the severity of the storms has increased and decreased in the days approaching the event itself.
In Florida, sports events are often advised to stop immediately upon hearing thunder and cannot resume until 30 minutes after the last clap of thunder or lightning strike. This “30-minute rule” restarts for any subsequent lightning, commonly causing delays for outdoor events.
Another quirk is that Sunday looks set to be the first wet-weather race for Formula 1’s controversial new cars.
The sport introduced cars with an unprecedented focus on battery harvesting and power deployment this year, and drivers were not overly impressed with a brief amount of wet-weather running they have had at their disposal in test events so far.
F1’s race was due to start at 4 p.m. ET but that has now been brought forward to 1 p.m. ET, 6 p.m. BST.
The decision follows talks between F1, the governing FIA and the Miami promoter on Saturday night, and a statement read that it was “to ensure the least amount of disruption to the race, and to ensure the maximum possible window to complete the Grand Prix in the best conditions and to prioritise the safety of drivers, fans, teams and staff.”
The threat of thunderstorms might further complicate the amount of running that might be completed.
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Nate SaundersMay 2, 2026, 08:05 PM ETCloseFollow on XMultiple Authors