Formula 1’s unexpected five-week break is good news for some teams but bad for others. 

The cancellation of the Middle East double-header in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia due to the war in Iran leaves an unexpected gap in the 2026 F1 calendar between the Japanese Grand Prix on 29 March and the Miami Grand Prix on 3 May. 

While there will be no racing in April, that doesn’t mean the work will stop altogether. The team’s factories remain open for development work and the hiatus also provides key F1 figures the chance to work through potential tweaks to the much-maligned new regulations ahead of the next race in Miami. 

For several teams this will provide a welcome opportunity, but it is the last thing those who have started strongly needed. This is who the unplanned break will benefit – and hurt – the most…

Loser – Mercedes

Mercedes is undoubtedly the biggest loser, having made the perfect start to F1’s new era by winning the opening three races, as well as taking victory in the China sprint. 

The Silver Arrows’ unbeaten start has seen it move into a commanding early lead at the top of both world championships, so the last thing it needed was a break. With no mandatory shutdown period, unlike in the August break, this will provide rival teams a chance to work on upgrades and conduct some vital learning to further understand F1’s complex new rules and power unit systems. 

Mercedes would have much preferred to go racing and likely claim two more victories to strengthen its already formidable position at the top of F1. Now, there is a risk its rivals could close the gap, though the current 2026 leaders will not be standing still either, with sizeable updates expected to be brought to Miami from pretty much every team. 

Another consequence that could hurt Mercedes is that there will now be two fewer races before F1’s new compression limit tests come into force from 1 June. Rivals hope this will peg Mercedes back, having accused the German manufacturer of gaining a performance edge by exploiting a loophole in the wording of the regulations by using thermal expansion and materials technology to exceed the mandated compression ratio when the engine is running at temperature. 

Winner – Aston Martin 

The break will provide Aston Martin with welcome relief after enduring a nightmare start to the 2026 F1 season. Dogged by performance and reliability issues relating to both its chassis and the power unit of new engine partner Honda, Aston Martin badly needs a reset.

On one hand, losing much-needed track time is a blow in terms of crucial data-gathering and a chance to address the problems it faces. On the other, Aston Martin will be sparred further embarrassment, having only been able to complete one full grand prix distance so far this year. 

This priceless time can be spent further working on solving the vibration issues that have curtailed Aston Martin’s season so far, rather than simply relying on countermeasures as damage-limitation. 

There will also be opportunities to make improvements on the chassis side, with legendary designer Adrian Newey admitting the AMR26 is not only being held back by Honda’s engine performance. Aston Martin also has a weight problem, though not as severe as Williams’ (more on that later), so quick-fire gains could be made here. 

Improving the competitiveness of Honda’s power unit will be a longer-term fix aided by F1’s new Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO), but Aston Martin should head to Miami in a much-better place thanks to this unplanned pause. 

Loser – Haas 

Another team to have enjoyed a brilliant start to 2026 is Haas. Amid Mercedes’ early supremacy, Haas has flown somewhat under-the-radar in the opening three rounds. 

Ollie Bearman continues to impress and has been one of the standout performers in 2026 so far, finishing seventh and fifth in Australia and China, before suffering a terrifying crash in Japan. On that day, team-mate Esteban Ocon was on hand to score points for the first time this year in ninth. 

Haas enters the April break enjoying one of its best starts in its F1 history, matching its 2016 debut tally of 18 points after the first three races. The American outfit currently lies fourth in the constructors’ standings, behind only Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren. 

With no racing for a month, there is a chance Haas could lose its early momentum and be caught by its midfield rivals who made slower starts to the campaign. Alpine and Red Bull are only two points behind, while Racing Bulls sit four points adrift of Haas. 

With the current VF-26 package working well, and particularly impressive in race trim, Haas would have preferred to build on its strong start instead of taking an enforced break. 

Winner – Williams 

The break is good news for Williams. The Grove-based squad has arguably been the biggest disappointment of 2026, having failed to build upon its promise of last season and slipped towards the back of the midfield pack. 

Weight is the biggest issue currently handicapping Williams, with its FW48 both badly off the pace and hugely overweight. Williams will be one of the team’s looking to put this time to good use in a bid to cut weight from its car – the fastest way to bring an immediate performance benefit. 

Williams team principal James Vowles promised that his team would use “every single hour” of the break to regain some ground to the likes of Haas, Alpine, Audi and Racing Bulls in the midfield fight. 

Loser – Red Bull 

Red Bull is under pressure after making a lacklustre start to 2026, having been beset by both performance and reliability woes which have left the team a self-prescribed ‘fourth-fastest’ and sixth in the constructors’ championship with just 16 points to its name. 

As it looks to better understand its first in-house power unit, Red Bull needs all the lap time it can get. Therefore, losing two races will be detrimental to its learning, as suggested by Isack Hadjar after the Chinese Grand Prix. 

Red Bull will be able to try and address some of the balance and handling woes afflicting its RB22, but its rivals have just as much time to develop upgrades during this period of time. 

Winner – McLaren 

McLaren stand to gain from the month-long break given it started its double world championship defence on the back foot in Australia, and failed to even make the start with a disastrous double DNS in China. 

The Woking outfit showed a better reflection of its competitiveness in Japan, where it emerged as Mercedes’ nearest challenger, leapfrogging Ferrari. This came after making some impressive gains with the understanding of how to get the best out of its Mercedes engine during a two-week break between races. 

McLaren will be looking to utilise this time to further unlock more performance, while it already intended to unleash its first major upgrade package of the season in Miami. No races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia means McLaren will lose fewer points to its rivals as it looks to get itself back on the front foot.