“It is probably at the bottom of my favorite circuits list,” said Lewis Hamilton, the disdainful tone and the corresponding facial expression indicating that no elucidation would be to come.
Too bad the poor scribbler who had clearly accepted a commission of a point of sale or another to write a story by speaking of the race in Miami, spending the most recent weekends of the Grand Prix working with obstinately the series of press conferences for positive quotes. Some drivers have seen the reason behind the otherwise incongruous questioning line and have generously did their best to facilitate; The majority was at best lukewarm.
Lewis was cold in stone.
“As an event?” Our colleague hurried, with weariness.
“Even.”
Since the Miami Grand Prix joined the Calendar of Formula 1 in 2022 in the first fire of post-Survive The growth of the American public, the temporary track around the Hard Rock stadium at best aroused mixed feelings.
From the first day of the inaugural edition, the F1 pilots complained of the layout and the surface (which were to be distributed during the opening weekend). The organizers had to mitigate this difficulty and the logistical difficulties of the assembly of the circuit without causing traffic problems that can embrace relations with local businesses and residents.
There have also been reports reported on VIP catering – on which anyone who was not blessed with such a pass does not need to worry unduly for the poor celebrities and hangers who are hungry and athirst. The adjustment of this surface and the surface of the track was a major objective before the second outing of the race.
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo of: Peter Fox – Getty Images
The new surface has appeased many complaints concerning racing practices, but certain elements of the layout remain problematic for drivers, in particular the section between tours 13 and 16 – including the chicane which, according to Max Verstapun, would be better taken “in a kart”.
To a certain extent, this is inevitable, because the quantity of real estate is finished and the circuit must maneuver around a stage as well as the high road ramps which dictate this section at slow speed and the chicane. The critical objective harms here to these areas of the track which are Considered as successful, in particular the first sector which completes around the stadium and ends with the multi-apex, turns 6-7-8.
“Pretty Mega” is the way Esteban Ocon described the first Miami sector, and he had previously counted among the criticism of the circuit after his shunt in turn 13 during training for the inaugural event.
“You can really push the advantage in terms of lines and the use of the sidewalk,” said the former Alpin teammate of Ocon, Pierre Gasly, the opening sector and its positive points.
The track designers estimated 30 different permutations before staying on it and it is easy to see why this first sector is so effective. Unfortunately, his arrangement then dictates the route to the start.
“I think the part of the turn of the turn 12 to 15 is probably not really designed for these Formula 1 cars,” said Fernando Alonso, “but it’s the same for everyone.
“You just try to survive this sector, but it’s not really a sector where you can push or find a tenth of a second or something like that, you are just in the middle of the track and it’s not super interesting.”
Esteban Ocon, Alpine A522, crashes
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
The challenge in the use of this area of the campus is the entry and exit and output and overview sections of Florida Turnpike and NW 203rd Street. The safety regulations dictate traffic jams on speed and clearance around all this concrete, hence the delicate chicane – to which the circuits designers added a crest like an “error generator”.
Although drivers are always likely to complain about these elements, they have their advantages in terms of potentially the race. In this context, the current layout in this area undoubtedly represents the most effective use of space.
So, if Miami must remain “an clumsy track with clumsy corners” as Alex Albon describes, is there another way to resolve some of the pilot complaints? Potentially yes.
During the first three editions, criticism of the track surface took hand with complaints concerning the behavior of tires in the spring heat boom in Miami. Last year, Pirelli’s sweet compound rubber – The C4 compound – turned out to be so sensitive to overheating that Lando Norris, Hamilton and George Russell discussed mediums in Q3.
But the medium and hard compounds, while being less sensitive to temperature, were less prone to degradation and grain, making a single window breed the optimal strategy. This naturally has the effect of making the races more likely to be processional, as shown by the first laps of this year – that is why the compounds of Miami will actually be a softer step, C4 becoming the average choice.
Pirelli has changed the C4 this year to make it less subject to degradation, so the result remains uncertain.
Alex Albon, Williams FW46 Zhou Guanyu, Pieu F1 team Kick Sauber C44
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
One way in which the organizers could overcome the temperature problem would be to hold the race at night – and the president of the Miami Grand Prix, Tyler EPP, said that it is a possibility that it assesses. It would be difficult to move the slot of the race calendar to a fresher period of the year, due to the Miami open tennis tournament and the demands of the football season.
But organizing the race at night, or at least in the evening, could play the ambitions of the event to be the capital of the F1 party – although the impact on neighbors should be considered and attenuated.
In terms of effect on track action, a change of time could be transformational. As Ocon pointed out, the lower temperatures would put the tires under less constraint and change the approach to the entire course.
“With 20 degrees less, it would be super nice and fluid,” he concluded.
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