Formula 1 is returning to Miami this week for the first American race of the season, and you'd be forgiven for not quite remembering every twist and turn of the 2026 campaign so far.
We have a new youngest drivers' championship leader, a four-time title winner is seemingly looking for the exit door and rules and racing have been at the forefront of the sport's storylines.
The Miami Grand Prix -- following a five-week break due to the cancellations of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian GPs -- is now in focus, and it's time to see if Mercedes' rivals have been able to catch up, with the added intrigue of rules tweaks which could yet have a competitive impact.
Here, ESPN looks at how the first three races of the 2026 season went, and what to expect heading to Miami Gardens.
Australian Grand Prix
Heading to Australia, it was speculated that Mercedes were going to be the ones to watch this season, and the team proved everyone to be right after George Russell dominated the field in qualifying.
The season-opener is always eventful, but no one would have put four-time world champion Max Verstappen crashing out in the first session of qualifying on their bingo card.
Before the race even started, McLaren's Oscar Piastri crashed on the way to the grid and retired as a result.
In the race itself, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc flew off the line and left Russell in the dust, but the pair ended up having a back and forth battle for the first 10 laps. Red Bull's Verstappen also clawed his way from the back of the grid to finish sixth.
Russell eventually regained the lead after pitting under the virtual safety cars and managed his tyres well until the chequered flag.
Top five:
1) George Russell
2) Kimi Antonelli
3) Charles Leclerc
4) Lewis Hamilton
5) Lando Norris
Top storylines:
- McLaren's Oscar Piastri crashes out on way to grid
- Liam Lawson and Sergio Pérez rekindle F1 feud at Australian Grand Prix
- Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes could win title in 'a few months'
Chinese Grand Prix
It was a similar story a week later in China when Mercedes locked out a one-two with Russell on pole and Kimi Antonelli behind. Defending world champion Lando Norris was third, with Lewis Hamilton behind in fourth.
For the race, all eyes were on the Ferrari of Hamilton to see if he could pip the cars in front off the line. And that was exactly what happened, with Leclerc who started in fourth, joining behind his teammate as they headed into the first corner.
The Shanghai circuit with its long straights suited the Silver Arrows and that started to show almost immediately, when Antonelli and Russell both made overtakes to get themselves firmly in first and second position.
It was a battle for third between the two Ferraris, and they put on some great racing action in this new era of cars to which Hamilton described afterwards as "one of the most enjoyable races of his career."
Antonelli held onto the lead and secured his maiden F1 victory and there were plenty of tears shed for the youngster.
It was misery for defending constructors' champions McLaren who detected issues on both Norris' and Piastri's car, and as a result did not start the race.
Top five:
1) Kimi Antonelli
2) George Russell
3) Lewis Hamilton
4) Charles Leclerc
5) Oliver Bearman
Top storylines:
- Fernando Alonso 'struggled to feel' hands and feet in Aston Martin
- Chinese Grand Prix 'one of the most enjoyable races' of Lewis Hamilton's career
- Chinese Grand Prix podium one of two 'perfect' moments in F1 for Toto Wolff
Japanese Grand Prix
Antonelli continued his good form after putting his Mercedes on pole around Suzuka, with Russell in second and Piastri in third.
A better day for McLaren finally arrived after Piastri had a strong start from third to lead the race against the ever-struggling Mercedes, its weakness being getting off the line quickly.
The Australian did what he did best, staying cool, calm and collected, and stayed in the lead until he pitted for new tyres. Russell then took the lead before coming into the pits shortly after.
The majority of the front-runners had all pitted apart from Antonelli and soon after Haas' Oliver Bearman had a 50G impact crash which brought out the safety car.
Antonelli was then called into the pits to make the most of the reduced pit-stop time which meant he was able to hold onto the lead as a result.
Mercedes' strong start has put them at the top of the constructors' championship and now lead Ferrari by 45 points heading into the fourth race.
Top five:
1) Kimi Antonelli
2) George Russell
3) Charles Leclerc
4) Lewis Hamilton
5) Lando Norris
Top storylines:
- Max Verstappen considering retiring from F1 at end of 2026
- Why new rules have Verstappen on the brink of walking away from F1
- Carlos Sainz: FIA ignored driver warnings before Oliver Bearman crash
What to expect in Miami?
Mercedes is set to still be the front-running team, but it will be worth keeping an eye on McLaren and Red Bull to see if the teams have found ways to extract more performance out of the cars.
McLaren's team principal Andrea Stella has said that the idea for Miami and the next race in Canada at the end of this month is to "deliver a completely new car -- especially from an aerodynamic upgrades point of view."
Ferrari and Red Bull have been running some testing days before packing up and heading to Miami -- with speculation that Ferrari will be bringing its "Macarena" wing and that Red Bull will be joining after being spotted testing its own version of the innovative wing.
The midfield pack were tightly contested in the first few races and this will likely continue. The teams to watch out for are Alpine, Haas and Racing Bulls.
Finally, Aston Martin will be hoping to just continue finishing races and putting down laps to help the team gather as much data as possible. It has had a poor start to the season with significant car reliability issues, battery failures and power unit vibrations that saw neither Fernando Alonso or Lance Stroll able to complete a race, until Alonso managed to do so in Japan.
- Miami Grand Prix 2026: Race and F1 sprint start times, how to watch, full schedule, predictions
- F1's 2026 rule tweaks: What's changed after driver criticism, and will it make a difference?
- Turkish Grand Prix returns to F1 for 2027 as new-look calendar takes shape
Miami Grand Prix schedule
All times in BST
Friday, May 1
Practice One: 5 p.m. - 6.30 p.m.
Sprint Qualifying: 9.30 p.m. - 10.14 p.m.
Saturday, May 2
Sprint: 5 p.m. - 6 p.m.
Qualifying: 9 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Sunday, May 3
The Miami Grand Prix: 9 p.m.
How to watch
Sky Sports has exclusive F1 rights again in 2026 in the UK, with every session live on Sky Sports F1. Miami's sessions are also on Sky Sports Main Event.
For non-subscribers, highlights of the Miami Grand Prix will be on free-to-air television on Channel 4.
In the U.S., subscribers can watch every session on Apple TV, via a new F1 channel on the platform.