Formula 1 could struggle to get the Miami Grand Prix to the chequered flag on Sunday if forecasts of heavy thunderstorms hold, with rain and storms now expected for most of the day around Hard Rock Stadium. The race is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. Eastern time, but the weather may force the FIA to push back the timetable as far as it can.
That matters because Florida sports events are often told to stop immediately when thunder is heard and cannot resume until 30 minutes after the last clap of thunder or lightning. If lightning hits the area and the race is delayed or stopped, the FIA would also have to wait for 30 uninterrupted minutes without another strike before it could issue a restart order.
The governing body is expected to give Sunday’s grand prix as much leeway as possible if heavy rain or thunder arrives, and it plans to update teams on timing changes Saturday afternoon. The Miami weekend also includes a Porsche Supercup race and a Formula 2 race, and sources told that the Porsche event could be cancelled while the Formula 2 race could be moved forward to open the door to an earlier start for F1.
Multiple senior paddock sources have also said there have been no discussions about pushing the race to Monday. Sunset in Miami is at 7:52 p.m., which leaves a narrow window if the weather interrupts the schedule and visibility drops to the point where racing is no longer allowed.
A wet race would bring a first under the new rules, and it would also test cars in a different way. F1 regulations say battery boost mode must be disabled in the wet, software-controlled power deployment is capped at 250 kilowatts, and the straightline mode for the movable aerodynamic devices at the front and rear of the car is adjusted slightly as well.
Alpine driver Pierre Gasly has already given a taste of what soaked conditions can look like. Speaking earlier this year about wet laps at a shakedown event at Silverstone, he said: “It was 30 degrees tire temperature, wheelspinning in sixth gear,” and added that after Maggotts and Becketts it felt like “underwear change every lap,” calling it the most extreme experience he had ever had in his life.
The FIA has state-of-the-art weather forecasting equipment, but even that may not be enough if the storms settle over the Miami circuit. What happens next depends on Saturday afternoon’s timing update and whether the rain clears long enough for F1 to use the slim daylight left on Sunday.
