Miami Grand Prix: track and statistics

After taking over Formula 1, Liberty Media immediately started talking about increasing the number of American stages. In 2016, executive director Greg Maffei outlined priorities: digital broadcast monetization, calendar expansion and long-term contracts for racing in Miami and Las Vegas. The first two points have been achieved, the race took place in Miami in 2022 and in Las Vegas in 2023. Everything is going according to plan.

Miami is the largest metropolis in the southeastern United States and one of the most important financial centers. It was important for Liberty Media to organize this Grand Prix, whose history of organization included many lawsuits from the local community against the organizers. In the end we managed to find a compromise. Initially the intention was to hold a street race in Miami, the parties regularly sat down at the negotiating table and did not agree to anything. As a result, construction of the route in the port was eventually halted.

In the fall of 2019, independently of the city government, a new project emerged to build a circuit in the area where Hard Rock Stadium is located. Stadium owner Stephen Ross funded the construction and costs of staging the race.

The configuration of the track had to be changed, limiting it only to the territory of the stadium. She no longer went into town and the racing schedule was limited so as not to inconvenience local schoolchildren and students. A ten-year contract was signed on April 18, 2021.

Before construction, 36 configuration options were developed. The final version is similar to Melbourne’s Albert Park or Sochi Autodrom. The circuit in Miami is temporary and, moreover, built on a limited surface area where it is impossible to accommodate a large stationary racing circuit.

Characteristics of the trajectory

Miami International Autodrome. The circuit length is 5.41 kilometers, the circuit includes 19 corners (12 left and seven right), three straights and three DRS zones. The maximum design speed is 320 km/h. The project includes three points where overtaking is possible: in the 1st, 11th and 17th bends.

Between turns 13 and 16 there is a height difference where the track descends and rises as it passes under viaducts. According to the idea of ​​the track developers from the Apex Circuit Design agency, there is an ‘error generator’ of several blind bends in a row.

On the track there are both contoured sections that require soft suspension tuning, and really high-speed sections, where a stiffer suspension allows you to take maximum advantage of the aerodynamics. It is also important to ensure efficient acceleration where slow corners turn into long straights.

On the fast circuit, little downforce and high engine power are required. The load on the brakes is average, three severe braking zones are connected by medium speed sections where the brakes have time to cool.

Weekend schedule

This time the weekend will be held in the format with a Saturday sprint. You can follow the progress of all Formula 1 sessions on our live broadcast page.

Tire kits issued to teams for the weekend

For Miami, Pirelli again chose the middle three compositions: C2, C3 and C4 in the Hard, Medium and Soft roles.

Mario Isola: “At the Miami circuit the cars have to be set to an average level of downforce because there are a lot of corners and a very long straight. We have included the ‘average’ three compositions C2, C3 and C4, also because we expect very high asphalt temperatures.”