The fifth round of the 2022 Formula 1 championship has a sprinkle of a USA stardust this weekend as the iconic city of Miami, Florida hosts its first-ever Formula 1 event on a Miami Gardens street track which is set to thrill. Initially there were plans to host a Formula 1 race in Downtown Miami but focus then shifted to the Miami Gardens area. There were plenty of hoops to jump through – as local residents are still not very happy about this event – but Formula 1 1 now has its race in Miami, which becomes the 11th US venue to host a Formula 1 race.
The purpose-built street track surrounds the Hard Rock Stadium – home of the city’s NFL team Miami Dolphins – and has 19 corners, a mix of high and low speed to complement the long straights where top speeds are set to be around 200mph. It has been compared to Jeddah’s Corniche Circuit and Melbourne’s Albert Park with its feel. The FIA has now confirmed there will be three DRS zones for this Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix.
Turn 11, 17, and potentially Turn 1, are the major overtaking opportunities on the track. All three of these corners follow one of three DRS zones planned for the weekend.
Of course, a multitude of DRS zones at a brand-new track brings the very real risk of the organizers getting the exact position and length of the zone wrong. The system may potentially be too powerful through the weekend – in which case the race will feature a plethora of somewhat unsatisfying fly-by passes – or not powerful enough which would result in a dreaded ‘DRS train’.
Regardless, we should expect the drag reduction system to play a very important role in the quality of the racing as the only real chances for drivers to attempt overtaking moves here are seemingly those preceded by a DRS zone.
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