Miami Grand Prix facing increased threat as F1 returns to action

The Miami Grand Prix is facing increased threats of heavy thunderstorms ahead of Sunday's race and F1's return to action. 

At the time of writing, 0600 ET on Wednesday, April 29th, the current forecasts are for heavy thunderstorms to blow through the city on Sunday morning ahead of a 16:00 local time start of round four of the 2026 season. 

The cells will remain throughout the afternoon, moving from the north-west to the south-east and are set to pass over Cuba and the Bahamas before moving out into the Atlantic Ocean. 

The system, which is set to hit Miami on Sunday, will hit most of the eastern seaboard of the United States, having formed in the Rockies near Denver, Colorado, earlier in the week. 

It will cross the southern states of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi on Friday and Saturday, before crossing the Florida panhandle on Saturday night/Sunday morning, before hitting Miami for the 57 lap race.

In 2025, the Sprint race in Miami was also impacted by thunderstorms, with the start of the shorter race being delayed under red flag conditions, with Charles Leclerc even crashing on the lap to the grid prior to the start, having aquaplaned off.

However, the track dried quickly once the rain stopped, with drivers switching to slick tyres by the end of the race.

The other sessions in Miami are set to be free of rain, and temperatures will be in the low to mid-30 degree Celsius region throughout practice, Sprint Qualifying, the Sprint, and then Qualifying itself.