The weather is once again refusing to give Formula 1 any respite. Forecasts for Sunday, May 3, race day in Miami, are far from encouraging: at present, the probability of rain showers during the afternoon is reaching as high as 100%, and the FIA is actively working to outline possible alternative scenarios.
In order to be prepared for every eventuality, the FIA has held a meeting with teams and drivers to understand what the most realistic options are, while keeping in mind that the situation is made significantly more complex by the Sprint weekend format.
Options on the table
Due to the packed schedule, especially on Saturday, the idea of moving the race forward by a full day has effectively been ruled out. Although its feasibility was considered, it is highly unlikely that Formula 1 would see a scenario where the Sprint, qualifying session, and main race are all compressed into a single day.
As a result, the most realistic solution could be to move the race start forward by a few hours, with the current start time set at 4:00 PM local time. This would mean sacrificing the support race schedule, including Formula 2, but the priority given to Formula 1 would not create major issues in that regard.
On the other hand, the possibility of postponing the race to Monday appears to be off the table, similar to what happened in MotoGP in 2009 due to torrential rain in Qatar. The main reason is linked to existing television broadcast contracts, which do not allow for the main event of the weekend to be shifted forward to another day.
For now, all that remains is to wait for the next few hours to see how the weather forecast evolves, and how the FIA and Formula 1 will decide to proceed, with the sole objective of ensuring that the Miami Grand Prix can take place under regular racing conditions.
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