How imperfect Miami offered F1's drivers a unique challenge

For the next 800 words or so, it is immaterial to me that the Miami Grand Prix was a blockbuster event set in a glamorous location that attracted a host of famous faces and was designed to be photogenic. The 3.36-mile configuration could just as well have been plonked in an anonymous Lincolnshire field, Formula 1 having struggled to sell a single ticket, and I would still be about to defend the circuit’s credentials.

The cars looked superb lapping by themselves during practice and then in qualifying. They were yawing through the high-speed sweeps and jolting over the kerbs in the difficult stop and extremely tight direction change of the Turn 14-15 chicane. At a brand-new venue where drivers had to quickly correlate their reference points from the simulator with real-world conditions, we saw a pleasing divergence in lines.

The green asphalt plus deceptive off-camber nature, which was lost via the TV cameras, led to a flurry of drivers needing to hurriedly catch slides and make corrections. While that ultimately diminished the peak of the battle for pole when Max Verstappen bailed out of his final flying lap in Q3 after his twitch in Turn 5, it was a true spectacle to watch the cars nervous and on their tiptoes.

An agreeable blend of slow-, medium- and high-speed corners plus the proximity of the wall out of Turn 16 was a happy coming together of the stronger elements of Singapore and the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. There were complaints over an inadequate number of Tecpro barriers and Esteban Ocon entered the race feeling only “50% physically” after his enormous 51G smash in FP3. But these weren’t the apparently needless dangerous blind bends of Saudi Arabia.

Miami was also more three-dimensional than Jeddah, which is totally flat and smooth apart from the banked Turn 13. In Florida, as well as the camber, there were bumps and, while no huge climbs and plunging dives like Spa or the Red Bull Ring, enough elevation changes to see the cars going light on their feet.

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL36, Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri AT03, Mick Schumacher, Haas VF-22

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

It was much more refined than what might be expected from a street circuit but still entertaining to watch. Certainly, a far better effort than most of F1’s past dalliances with American street tracks - in the Caesars Palace car park, Dallas, Detroit and Phoenix.

Given free practice is hardly the peak of an F1 weekend, there was still plenty of compelling action. So much so, the brilliant Ben Edwards (on lead commentary duty for F1TV last weekend) never seemed to feel the need to engage when the director tediously cut to shots of people sipping champagne by the pools. He was just focused on the events on-track because there was plenty to observe as drivers wrestled their cars around.

Unfavourable comparisons to Sochi seem particularly harsh. For me it felt like Miami was closer to a decent Champ Car or IndyCar venue

The street track nature, without much runoff on the outside, also helped those of us watching from home (those in attendance, unsurprisingly, have been hastier to defend the GP). It meant the cameras were positioned closer to the track so enhanced the sensation of speed as the cars looked energetic and fast. The violence of direction changes wasn’t lost to wide angles.

These observations arrive after my first visit to Imola for the Emilia Romagna GP last month. A venue steeped in history that satisfies many of the more conventional criteria of an old-school exciting track. In this sense, Miami had a tough act to follow rather than coming as something of a tonic after a series of anonymous runs at dull ‘Tilkedromes’.

The Miami circuit can be remembered for being lined by palm trees, the fake marina and sitting in the shadow of the Hard Rock Stadium. But I felt there was plenty else from the 19 corners that it needn’t be defined by those elements.

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR22, Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR22

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Of course, the track surface kept to F1 tradition in America by having all the heat resilience of a chocolate teapot and copping plenty of flak as a result. And while the race also came under heavy fire (the brimmed cars at the start looking particularly cumbersome through the direction changes and over the kerbs), it was an average affair but no stinker.

With 45 overtakes, it has only been surpassed by the 58 of Bahrain from the five rounds this season. And Miami at least broke the trend of 2022 - so far most of the passing has been derived from DRS. Last weekend, lock-ups and driver error were the main factors.

Perhaps the critical reception was so low because the Miami GP came so hotly anticipated that it was only ever going to fall short. But unfavourable comparisons to Sochi seem particularly harsh. For me it felt like Miami was closer to a decent Champ Car or IndyCar venue. Despite the glitz off-track, it was ugly in places and all the better for its imperfections.

OK, the grand prix last Sunday proved that Miami was by no means a flawless track for racing. But from what we saw throughout practice and qualifying, I reckon it was still an exhilarating racing track.

Nicholas Latifi, Williams FW44

Photo by: Williams