Que bolá Miami?
Generally, I’m not someone who gets jealous. But oh, do I wish I was in Miami right now. Any non-Americans will understand that we can be a little resentful, *ahem* bitter, when we see American events getting all of the attention. However, this time I totally get it. Before we even mention the racing, Miami as a location is exactly what comes to my mind when I think about the glamour and excitement of Formula 1. It’s a sunny, glitzy destination teaming with culture, celebrities, stunning views, and of course, plenty of people with full pockets ready to be emptied in the Paddock Club hospitality.
You might have heard a lot of people within the sport in the past few months discussing Formula 1’s ‘breakthrough’ into the American market and nothing is proof of it more than the hype for this race weekend. Everyone – from F1 content creators, celebrities, American athletes, and all forms of media, have been busy at the track since Wednesday (two whole days earlier than a normal start - such is the power of commercialisation). It’s no secret that Drive to Survive, as well a generation of younger drivers and team members utilizing social media effectively has caused a boom in popularity for the sport in the US. When listening to the commentary during practice, I was impressed to hear what some might consider basic concepts such as practice and qualifying formats, the halo, and tyre compounds, explained for absolute beginners of the sport. Personally, I love that Formula 1 are taking this approach - the more, the merrier.
Onto the practicalities of the Miami Grand Prix circuit. I wish I could tell you that there are clear favourites for performance on the track and that there are sectors guaranteed to produce great racing action. However, the reality is even the teams and drivers are still discovering the track. FP1 was unusually busy as all of the drivers got their first running on the track in person, although I’m sure most of them are very familiar with the layout due to simulator work. There are some very long straights which Red Bull certainly would have been rubbing their hands at while Ferrari winced a little (two teams on opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of straight-line speed). However, Max Verstappen wasn’t looking too impressed after another bout of technical issues in his Red Bull during practice. During the opening races a few reliability issues can maybe be excused, but it’s starting to become a worrying pattern for the team who would certainly be hoping to put themselves right in the fight for both titles again this year.
We’re starting to get a clearer idea of the field as it settles into its usual structure of front runners, midfield teams, and back runners. However, there is still so much on the grid unsettled. There’s Lewis Hamilton still claiming he doesn’t ‘expect anything to have improved’ in terms of the pace of the Mercedes. Carlos Sainz will certainly be looking to turn around his awful run of luck (or some might argue form) of late. Mick Schumacher will be getting frustrated at his lack of first points as his team mate consistently puts the Haas in impressive positions. And as if there wasn’t enough going on, the driver market rumours have already started, many of them involving Daniel Ricciardo (but more on that to come in due course).
I do hope that the energy and spectacle of Miami translates to an exciting race on the track. The drivers are happy to be there, the teams are happy with the new revenue that comes with a US audience, let’s hope that fans globally can get behind the US Grand Prix as it looks like it’s here in a big way.
Comments