Miami Grand Prix: Who will bring the heat?
- Aaron Harper
- May 6, 2022
- 4 min read
Formula One may have finally cracked the US, as Miami becomes the 11th host of an F1 race on American soil.
With a circuit that surrounds the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the Miami Dolphins NFL team, there is a buzz all around Miami Gardens.
The 5.412km layout is comprised of 19 corners, with 12 left and seven right. There are also two very long straights, with DRS aid, to test the cars and power-unit performance.
It is going to be a challenge for both man and machine as the high average speed, predicted to be over 220km/h, will place the drivers under 5g of loading in some corners.
There will be three likely opportunities for an overtake, into turns one, 11 & 17, which are all at the end of DRS zones.
Ferrari still lead both championships, heading Red Bull by 11-points in the Constructors table, while Charles Leclerc has a 27-point gap back to Max Verstappen in the drivers’ championship.
The Scuderia are bringing updates to their package, including an MGU-K improvement, which will go onto the championship leader’s car, and will hope for a return to form after a tough Sunday afternoon in Imola.
Red Bull on the other hand, will be riding a huge wave of momentum into Miami’s shores.
They scored a one-two on Italian soil, an away win if you will, against Ferrari.
Verstappen collected 34-points, the most any single driver has scored in one race weekend, after winning both the sprint and the Grand Prix.
He also picked up the point for fastest lap in the race, completing a second “Grand Slam” of his career.
One team that hopes Ferrari and Red Bull aren’t the only two teams disputing victory is Mercedes.
The Brackley based team have struggled to get on top of their car’s porpoising problems but arrive in Florida with some upgrades, that they are optimistic will go some way to helping find the issue, or solve it all together.
Pirelli have brought the C2 (hard), C3 (medium) and C4 (soft) tyres from their range, how will the new 2021 tyres cope with the combination of daytime heat and high-speed corners, which we have not yet seen in 2022.
Could that provide a driver, kinder to his tyres, with a stronger chance of victory this weekend?
Pole Winner – Charles Leclerc
The 24-year-old has been fantastic so far this season, scoring the highest average rating from my own scorecard in the opening four races.
Leclerc leads the championship by 27-points and has already bagged pole position in Bahrain and Australia, while he would have had pole without Sergio Perez’s mega lap in Jeddah.
In fact, the Monegasque has been on the front row for every race in 2022, including the sprint in Imola, last time out.
His sheer consistency in qualifying has him as my favourite for pole this weekend.
Race Winner – Sergio Perez
I have a feeling that this layout could bring some carnage, somewhere in the field.
The high-speed nature and narrow track make it similar in ways to Baku, where Perez won last year.
The Mexican does tend to drive well on circuits like this, his pole in Saudi Arabia another case in point.
With the combination of Perez’ ability to look after tyres, keep his nose clean and be rapid over a race distance, I’m tipping him to find his way to the front.
Race Podium
1st – Sergio Perez
2nd – Carlos Sainz
3rd – Lewis Hamilton
As I said above, I can see some major flash points, see below for further detail. This will present opportunity and a chance for Perez and Sainz to throw themselves into the title fight with a good result.
Perez has had mixed fortunes this season, finishing second in both of the last two races. He will be very keen to go one better in Miami.
Sainz' season started strongly but has quickly derailed with retirements in Australia and Imola. The Spaniard needs a positive result quickly, for both his sake and that of the team, as it has been valuable points lost in both championships.
I’ve also got Hamilton on the rostrum, more in hope than expectation, although it could easily be George Russell.
Some may be glorying in Mercedes' struggles, but that is not a particularly sporting outlook. If the Silver Arrows can join the fight at the front, the strength of F1's core product - the drivers and the racing - will be in an incredibly healthy place.
Bold Prediction
DNF’s for Leclerc and Verstappen – most likely a collision with each other as they battle for the lead. It’s a tight track and both drivers know that they can’t let the other build momentum.
Leclerc will want to respond to Verstappen’s victory in Italy, as he did after the Dutchman’s Jeddah triumph.
Verstappen put his Aussie DNF and Leclerc’s dominance of that race behind him to win last time out.
I can see neither wanting to yield and there could be an “inchident” of a more seismic nature between the pair.
Thank you for reading this blog post, please leave your predictions ahead of the first Miami GP in the comments!
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