The FIA has just announced that the FP1 session at the 2026 F1 Miami Grand Prix will be extended to 90-minutes instead of the usual 60-minute allocated time slot. This decision follows the recently announced technical regulation overhaul that will be implemented the same weekend.
The session will now run from 12 pm to 1.30 pm local time, with all other track sessions scheduled prior to the FP1 session moving forward by 30 minutes as well.
The 3 factors that caused the extended session
Three main factors caused the FIA to consider extending the 2026 Miami Grand Prix FP1 session.
The first is the structure of the Miami Grand Prix weekend. As Miami is a sprint weekend, there is only one scheduled practice session before sprint qualifying the same day. This means drivers and teams only have a limited amount of time to collect the necessary data and to get used to any changes.
Secondly, the Miami Grand Prix weekend marks the resumption of the 2026 F1 calendar following a surprise 5-week break caused by the cancellation of both the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Lastly and most importantly, the extended practice session will allocate more time for teams and drivers to navigate the revised technical regulations. This comes after a meeting with the key shareholders of the sport that took place on April 20, where revisions to the 2026 F1 technical regulations were discussed among the FIA, the FOM and the respective team principals.
This decision has been taken in recognition of the gap since the last Grand Prix, the recently announced regulatory and technical adjustments, and the fact that as the Miami Grand Prix operates under the Sprint format which reduces the amount of practice time available over the course of the weekend.
