Starting at the Miami Grand Prix, a trick that circumvented mandatory power reduction requirements is banned, something that for Ferrari, the strongest team on starts, could be the big beneficiary of the change.
The Maranello team could be the big beneficiary of the first regulatory change of the 2026 season: Ferrari, which has been very close to Mercedes Benz in these first races and has the added value of being the strongest on starts, now sees a perfect scenario to achieve its first win of the year, a possible pole position for Lewis Hamilton or Charles Leclerc, added to the SF-26's starting prowess, could translate into the long awaited triumph, especially after showing encouraging race pace in Japan.
The International Automobile Federation (FIA) held a series of meetings during April to discuss possible changes to the regulations. This was done in response to constant complaints from both drivers and fans after the first three races of the season, which pushed the entity to take concrete measures.
The specialized portal The Race revealed the first drastic change: it is the prohibition of a trick used by Mercedes Benz and Red Bull Racing to get a speed increase at the end of each lap during qualifying, this trick allowed said teams to circumvent the mandatory power reduction requirements imposed by the regulations.
The functioning of this technical resource was as follows: in qualifying, these teams kept energy deployment at maximum rather than reducing it gradually to the finish line; in this way, they managed to gain between 50 and 100 additional kilowatts of power in the final section of each flying lap. To the dismay of Mercedes and Red Bull, this technical advantage is over.
The modification will come into force starting at the Miami Grand Prix, the fourth round of the 2026 calendar, and although it is still early to determine the real impact of this modification on the development of the upcoming races, a priori it is expected that the grid could balance out in qualifying sessions, where until now the teams benefited by this trick had shown a considerable advantage.
Although the official information from the FIA has not yet been published in detail, The Race's leak has generated expectation in the paddock since teams like Ferrari, which did not use this resource, could see the gap that separated them from the leaders on fast laps reduced. The Miami GP, scheduled for early May, will be the first scenario where the true effect of this ban can be observed, everything is ready for the championship to take an unexpected turn.