For the Miami Grand Prix, whose program includes the second Saturday sprint of the season, Pirelli tire manufacturers have prepared rubber in the middle part of the hardness range: the composition C2 – Hard, C3 – Medium and C4 will be used as the softest .
The temporary circuit around the Hard Rock Stadium complex is a 5,421 meter circuit consisting of 19 corners and three straights, where maximum speeds can exceed 340 km/h. At the same time, there are also height differences, mainly between turns 13 and 16, where the track goes over one of the ring roads.
All three sectors of the circle are different in nature; the first has eight fast corners, the second has a long straight and several slow corners, the third also consists of a straight, followed by three final corners, with the 17th being a hairpin.
The race will be held in Miami for the third time in 2024 and the teams will have information collected at this circuit over the past two seasons. It is believed that the overtaking probability on this ring is at an average level. The loads, both in the longitudinal and transverse directions, that the rubber experiences there are also classified as average by Pirelli.
Before last year’s race, the asphalt of the track was updated, the surface is very slippery and, accordingly, the grip there is quite low, especially since no other races are held on this ring. Therefore, the surface condition changes significantly over the weekend and the phenomenon of rubber granulation cannot be excluded, especially in the case of Medium and Soft compounds.
Miami is believed to have a tropical climate, with temperatures typically above 25 degrees, but often hovering between 30 and 33 degrees. At this time of year the weather is usually sunny, but rain and even thunder are possible, as well as quite strong winds. Last year the asphalt warmed up to 55 degrees during the race weekend and this is one of the highest values during the entire season.
Normally drivers cover the distance of the Miami Grand Prix with one pit stop; In this case, absolute preference is given to the compositions Hard and Medium. Max Verstappen, last year’s race winner, started from 9th position on hard tires and then switched to medium tires. Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso, who also made it to the podium, alternated their compounds in reverse order: they ran the first part of the race on Medium, after which they installed hard tires.
On Friday, the teams will have just one hour of training to adapt to the track, find the optimal settings and analyze the tire performance. Sprint qualifying takes place on the same day and determines the order of Saturday’s short race. This takes place on Saturday morning, after which the parc ferme rules are suspended for a few hours between the sprint and qualifying to allow teams to adjust their settings ahead of qualifying and Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
