FIA announce major change to Miami Grand Prix weekend as new regulations confirmed

The FIA have confirmed a major change to the Miami Grand Prix schedule as Formula One is finally set to return.

Due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, Formula One was forced to take an unplanned five-week break after cancelling the Saudi Arabia and Bahrain Grands Prix.

However, the wait for on-track action is nearly over as F1 returns for the Miami Grand Prix from May 1-3.

Given the break, it is expected that teams across the grid will have made extensive changes to their cars ahead of the rest of the season.

But now it's been confirmed that it won't just be the cars that will change in Miami, as the FIA have released a statement confirming that the first free practice session of the weekend will be extended to 90 minutes.

"Following consultation with all stakeholders, it has been agreed that Free Practice 1 (FP1) at the Miami Grand Prix will be extended to 90 minutes," the governing body confirmed on social media.

"As a result, the session will now run from 12:00 to 13:30 local time. All other track sessions planned before FP1 will also move forward by 30 minutes.

"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."

Free practice 1 will now run from 7am BST to 9.30am, meaning that all other track sessions scheduled prior to FP1 will be moved forward by 30 minutes.

The reminder of the race weekend will run as originally scheduled, with sprint qualifying being held at 21:30pm on Friday before the second Sprint of the season takes place at 17.00pm on Saturday.

Qualifying will then take place at 21:00pm on Saturday, while the Grand Prix itself gets underway on Sunday at 21:00.

It has not been confirmed why exactly this decision has been made, but it is likely to allow teams more time to adjust to the changes to the regulations announced ahead of the race.