For the first time since 1959, Formula 1 returns to Florida, for a brand new event, the Miami Grand Prix.
Miami is considered the jewel of the “Sunshine State,” with its Latin-American cultural influences, a thriving artistic scene, beaches and nightlife, not forgetting sport of course. The city hosts the Miami Open Tennis tournament, the National Football League, as well as NASCAR and Indycar races. And now the stage is set for Formula 1.
Miami International Autodrome is the venue for the Grand Prix, just a few kilometres from Downtown. The United States thus holds the record for the most cities to have hosted a Formula 1 Grand Prix, with Miami being the eleventh.
The street circuit runs around the famous Hard Rock Stadium, home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins. The promoter came up with 36 different possible layouts before arriving at the definitive version. All the hard work over several years has produced a track that is fast and spectacular, with three long straights each with a DRS zone, where speeds are expected to reach 320 km/h.
“The Shanghai result didn’t reflect it, but we made progress in China; the performance of the car was strong and I’m confident that will continue. Obviously, it’ll be a challenge this weekend given the three-place grid penalty, but we’ll be pushing for points. It’s no secret that I love spending time in the States, so I’m looking forward to getting on track in Miami. I’ve only raced here once so I’m excited to go back. It can be a really hot physical race. Racing in America is always fun, it’s as much about the big show as the actual racing. Whenever I think of Miami, I think of the heat, the humidity and that stadium of course. There’s always a huge energy from the fans so it’s a real buzz. Being near the beach is nice too as it’s not often you get to go for a dip in the sea during a race week.”
“China did not go well for us, even though the potential was there in the car, so I’m very excited about this weekend as I believe we can come back stronger. There’s always been a great atmosphere in Miami, and I’ve got good memories of the past two years, so I can’t wait to get out on track. It’s another Sprint weekend which makes for a challenging race week and our aim will be to try and score points in both races, with the emphasis on Sunday’s main event. I always like trying local food at the races so I’m again looking forward to eating the Miami specialty; the stone crab – the bigger the better!”
