Speaking in the press conference ahead of the Miami Grand Prix on Thursday, Carlos Sainz put it plainly enough: “Whether that’s going to be safe enough or not, with the walls close to you and the visibility that we have with these cars, it is certainly going to be a concern.”
He was talking about racing in the rain with the 2026 Formula 1 cars, and he may have been understating it.
F1 arrived in Miami having spent the best part of the past five weeks discussing the safety implications of its 2026 power unit regulations: the closing speeds, the unpredictable energy deployment and the 350 kilowatts of electrical power that suddenly boost acceleration.
A series of tweaks has been agreed before this weekend, welcomed cautiously by some drivers as a step in the right direction.
But now, with an 88% chance of rain and a 53% chance of thunderstorms forecast for Sunday afternoon, teams and drivers are facing a more fundamental question: what actually happens when these cars have to run in the wet?
Based on what drivers said during Thursday’s press conference, nobody is entirely sure.
Sainz believes there recharge limit should be lowered
Williams
Kimi Antonelli drove the 2026 Mercedes in the wet during a pre-season shakedown at Silverstone, and his verdict was not especially reassuring.
“Definitely it was very tricky,” the championship leader said. “Although now with the changes that’s already a step forward in that regard.
“I think it’s going to be tricky because there will be a lot of unknowns, and obviously we’re also going to be racing if the wet weather presents.”
Antonelli said the intermediate tyres struggle to build temperature in the wet, so much so that once there’s standing water, the full wet becomes the obvious choice immediately.
The Italian also flagged a specific concern about tyre blanket temperatures needing to be raised before the cars can operate safely on a soaked circuit.
Isack Hadjar, who has logged wet-weather mileage of his own, backed him up entirely and shared his concerns about the difficulty in bringing the intermediate tyres up to temperature.
“I experienced myself quite a bit of mileage in the rain so far and it’s been very tricky with the inter tyres to put any temperature,” the Red Bull driver added.
“Of course, it’s not ideal to have a first race straight away in the rain. You would like to have a read maybe even in qualifying, but going straight away to rain would be fun.”
On top of that, there is the track itself. Miami is flat. When it rains in Florida, it rains seriously, and the water has nowhere to go.
Sainz has been one of Formula 1’s more vocal critics of the 350kW boost deployment this season, and his concern for Sunday had a specific shape, as he believed the figure needs to be reduced to somewhere between 250 and 300kW for wet conditions.
Ahead of the Miami weekend, the FIA announced the ban of the boost button, which provides an extra 150kW of power, in wet conditions.
Tyre temperature may also be an issue if it rains
Mercedes
Whether that is agreed or not, the combination of maximum electrical deployment, poor visibility, walls on both sides of the circuit and standing water on a surface with minimal drainage is not a thought experiment.
“I think, at the back of everyone’s heads, [is] what’s going to happen when it’s wet,” Sainz said. “As we saw last year, on the straights, [there was] a lot of standing water here.
“It’s a super-flat track, the water stays on the surface and whether that’s going to be safe enough or not, with the walls close to you and the visibility that we have with these cars, it is certainly going to be a concern.”
Sainz also raised the question about why straightline mode is still allowed, even partially, when the track is wet.
SLM, which reduces drag by flattening the wing, operates only on the front wing in wet conditions.
“I really don’t understand why we have that if it doesn’t reduce the drag much,” Sainz added.
“Wet races are a lot of fun. Me, the first one, I love the wet. But hopefully with the right system and tools in place to make it safe. And also, there’s this lightning risk that I don’t know what will happen with.
“So yeah, a few things to analyse, to put together, if Sunday is going to be wet, maybe to discuss in drivers’ briefing so we can have all clear in our heads what we should expect and what we should go racing with.”
The FIA, for its part, says it is monitoring the forecast and has contingency plans in place, the same language it used in Miami last year when thunderstorms threatened.
As thunderstorms threaten Sunday’s race, a uniquely American legal framework means lightning could bring the Miami Grand Prix to a halt
By
Pablo Elizalde
Florida requires major outdoor public events to be suspended if thunderstorms are in the vicinity, which would ground the medical helicopter and end any on-track activity immediately, regardless of whether rain has actually reached the circuit.
Wet races are usually among Formula 1’s most compelling. The variables multiply, the margins compress, and the drivers who can manage uncertainty best tend to rise.
But those conditions assume a baseline: that the cars are understood well enough to be raced safely in circumstances that deviate from the norm.
After three dry grands prix, the 2026 field has no wet-weather competitive data at all.
If Sunday delivers what the forecast currently suggests, Formula 1 will be running its most technically complex cars in living memory through standing water on a street circuit for the first time.
Sainz, as ever, was very direct: “I hope that we can take all the appropriate actions for it.”
