05/05/2022
NEWS STORY
If the recent race at Imola threatened to go into the record books as the F1 event with the longest name, this weekend's Miami Grand Prix must surely already be guaranteed a place courtesy of the non-stop, overwhelming hype surrounding it.
In recent days one has barely been able to avoid it, as F1's first visit to Miami threatened to push Elon Musk, Johnny Depp and the Met Gala out of the headlines.
While petrol heads shake their heads in disbelief and confusion, what one must remember is that this event, and everything surrounding it, isn't aimed at contemporary fans but rather it is a bid to build on the success of Drive to Survive and bring a new generation of fans to the F1 family.
To that extent, what actually happens on track over the course of the weekend isn't that important as far as the sport's owners are concerned, it is the impact the event has as a whole that is the bottom line.
Of course, at the back of long-term fans minds is the fear that this coupled prove to be another of those American events that went wrong, like Detroit, Dallas or the previous visit to Las Vegas.
Ironically, like the infamous events at Caesar's Palace in Vegas, the Miami circuit makes use of a car park, in this case that of the Miami Dolphins, however, the British company behind its design assures us it has a "Jekyll and Hyde personality" and the final sector features a ‘mistake generator’ that will keep the drivers on their toes.
Of course, coming off the back of that disastrous weekend at Imola, where once again the Mercedes W13 was compromised by porpoising, Lewis Hamilton will hardly be inspired to be racing in the Dolphins back yard... so to speak.
While Toto Wolff assures us that Mercedes is dealing with the problem, and may even introduce some upgrades this weekend, it is unlikely that the porpoising will be fully resolved until the European season gets underway in earnest. That said, after the disappointment of Imola, the seven-time champion must be wondering how George Russell is able to deal with the issue to such better effect.
Much was expected of Ferrari at Imola, but in the end it was pretty much a weekend to forget, with Carlos Sainz failing to complete the opening lap after being punted off by Daniel Ricciardo and an overenthusiastic Charles Leclerc literally throwing, or rather spinning, a podium finish away.
In as much as Imola was a disappointment for Ferrari it was an overwhelming success for Red Bull, with Max Verstappen winning the Sprint and then going on to win the Grand Prix and post fastest lap, with teammate Sergio Perez finishing second, thereby adding a further bucket load of points to the team's tally.
Like Mercedes, Imola witnessed a number of teams see its drivers enjoy mixed fortunes.
At McLaren, while Ricciardo never recovered from that first lap clash with Sainz and finished last, teammate Lando Norris finished third, thereby sharing the podium with the Red Bull pair and suggesting that McLaren is on the verge of resolving its various issues.
Pierre Gasly, who spent much of the afternoon in a DRS train, resulting in Hamilton staring at his rear wing for 44 laps, ended the day 12th, while teammate Yuki Tsunoda finished seventh.
Though the drivers have spent much time in the simulator preparing for the Miami weekend, they will still head into the opening sessions somewhat blind.
Other than the heat, which it is claimed will rival Jeddah, the sessions take place at various times meaning there is little preparation for the conditions expected on Sunday. Furthermore there is talk of rain.
The track is very narrow in places compared to standard, permanent tracks, particularly around the third sector, and this will create a higher chance of Safety Car and Virtual Safety Car deployment as a result, due to it being more difficult to remove cars or debris. Additionally, the brand new asphalt is likely to lead to a high degree of track evolution, especially at the start of the weekend.
"Because it's a fast track the cars are likely to run a low to medium downforce set-up, which could lead to a bit of sliding in the high-speed corners on the hard compounds in particular," warns Pirelli's Mario Isola, the Italian company providing its C2, C3 and C4 compounds this weekend.
"For any new track our choice tends to be on the conservative side," he adds, "so it will be interesting to confront the simulations with real data."
According to the latest F1 odds from Betway, Max Verstappen is favourite this weekend at 2.00, just ahead of Leclerc (2.25), while Perez is 11.00, Sainz 13.00 and poor old Hamilton 34.00.
Red Bull is 1.72 to win, ahead of Ferrari (2.10), Mercedes (21.00) and McLaren (26.00).
Check out our Thursday gallery from Miami, here.