After a month away from racing, Formula 2 makes its series debut in North America, alongside Formula 1‘s Miami Grand Prix.
F2’s last outing was the season opener in Albert Park during early March. The cancellations of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix forced the series into a prolonged break in April. With the cancellations came new tracks and replacement races. Resulting in F2 featuring in both Miami and Canada for the first time in the series history.
The Miami International Autodrome is the venue for the first-ever North American F2 race, and it is set to be a major challenge. The 5.412 km circuit features three DRS zones and an extended back straight perfect for overtaking. However, with no previous data or test runs, teams and drivers are coming into the weekend unaware of the challenge they face. Effectively, this makes this weekend an even playing field for all 22 drivers on the grid, regardless of how they started the season in Melbourne.
Pierre-Alain Michot, the F2 and F3 Technical Director, discussed this new ‘challenge’ for teams ahead of the race weekend.
“Miami will be a new challenge for teams and drivers to figure out and should provide plenty of action in both the Sprint and Feature Races,” Michot said.
The tyre selection for Miami is the medium and supersoft tyres, inviting teams to choose varying race strategies. Which at a brand new track could be the difference between a win, or finishing outside the points.
Who comes out on top in Miami?
Heading to Miami, Red Bull-backed Nikola Tsolov leads the championship. The Bulgarian claimed a narrow seven-point lead from the reigning F3 champion, Rafael Camara, in Melbourne. This duo are extremely familiar with battling at the front together, after finishing 1-2 in the F2 championship last season.
Importantly, Campos and Invicta Racing are the only two teams to have both respective drivers on the podium this season. This strong form boosts the chances of Tsolov and Camara performing well, but it also brings Noel Leon and Joshua Durksen into conversations for a podium or win. Ultimately, it is hard to go past either team based on the limited running seen in 2026.
Despite this, all eyes will be on hometown hero Colton Herta. The former IndyCar driver will make his return to racing in America much sooner than anticipated. The Cadillac-backed driver sailed to a seventh-place finish in Albert Park, following a difficult start to the weekend. Whilst finishing 17-seconds behind Tsolov, in Melbourne, the support from his home fans, and the familiarity of Miami may contribute to a smoother race weekend for Herta.
When speaking to the F1 Beyond the Grid podcast, Herta highlighted his excitement for the American additions. The American remains hopeful they can yield positive results for him and HITECH.
“Miami and Montreal are going to be new for everybody,” Herta told Beyond the Grid.
“I’m pretty sure nobody has been around there in anything but a simulator.
To me, I’m looking forward to it because it’s going to be two races in North America and that’s awesome…
None of us were expecting to have a home race in F2 in the United States this year. But yeah, I feel very fortunate for it.”
With a new circuit, unfamiliar conditions and a tight early championship fight, Miami represents one of the biggest unknowns of the 2026 season so far. But which one of the 22 drivers will leave the 305 victorious?
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