Scuderia Ferrari Spanish driver Carlos Sainz and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen have urged on Miami to change the new venue’s chicane as they feels it is not suited for the new-generation of Formula 1 cars.
All in all, the sport was happy with the Miami Grand Prix and most specifically the layout of the Miami International Autodrome, praising the design and environment of the 5.4km and 19-corner street circuit laid out on the massive car park surrounding the Miami Dolphin’s Hard Rock Stadium.
Yet after the Friday practice sessions in Southern Florida, the track’s surface quickly emerged as a major source of criticism from several drivers due to the lack of grid outside the racing line, which made it very difficult to attempt an overtaking move. The Miami Grand Prix organizers have confirmed their intention to improve the track’s asphalt for next year’s race.
However, that may not be the only big modification which Miami could perform ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 event, given the fact that the circuit’s Turn 14-15 chicane was also targeted by a few drivers at the end of the race last weekend: the complex of corners was described as a “mistake generator” by Miami’s architects who also confirmed to intentionally designing the tight left-right chicane to slow cars down ahead of the 90-degree Turn 16 which is void of a run-off area.
“I think it’s a chicane that with this generation of cars that are heavy, that are wide, just when you go around those two apex kerbs, it almost feels like you need a bit of luck to get around it and you sometimes get it on a weird angle and the car bounces a lot” – Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz explained, when asked about the complex of corners – “It’s a corner that is just a bit unnatural and it’s a corner that I think it can be easily manipulated to look a bit different and create a better combination, you know. It’s a new track that you’re always going to go through these phases and we’re already in touch with FOM, with Ross [Brawn] and his team to actually sort it out and put together a better piece of circuit.” – he added.
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen also hopes the chicane, or ‘Mickey Mouse stuff’ as McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo described it, will be changed and expanded for the next races in Miami:
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“I think track-wise, we can improve a few areas. The chicane is a bit of a tricky combination. I think if I would have been in a go-kart, it would be a nice chicane to take, but not in a Formula 1 car like we have at the moment. I remember in the four laps I did on Friday, I almost knocked myself out because I hit the first kerb and your head just bounced from left to right at least five, six times, but really bad. If you just take it a tiny bit too much, just because it’s so long, so wide, so stiff and super heavy that little kerb what it is, it’s just not made for it to be honest. So, maybe we have to change the kerb layout already, that it’s a bit more of a progressive ramp and it looks a bit nicer to go over. Maybe that helps already. But yeah, it’s so slow and I think our cars look way better if it’s a bit more of a flowing combination.” – the Dutchman explained.
On the other hand, Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver and current championship leader Charles Leclerc was one of the few who had an opposite view to his colleagues, stating that he “actually liked the choice”. At the same time, the Ferrari driver confirmed that the rapid succession of corners did not improve the racing action: “Also for visibility it’s quite difficult once you have a car in front because you need to be so precise on the kerbs, as mentioned already. That makes it even more difficult to follow.” – Charles Leclerc concluded.
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