According to the drivers, the Miami circuit is conducive to a show
According to Pierre Gasly and Kevin Magnussen, overtaking will not be a problem at the Miami International Autodrome.
As the single-seaters are about to hit the track of the brand new Miami circuit, the drivers have been able to share their opinion on the Floridian layout. Pierre Gasly, who has already completed nearly 130 laps of the newcomer on the F1 calendar in his team’s simulator, is confident in the quality of the show that will be offered.
« The circuit looks incredible. For me, it will be very fast. There are two very long straight lines, which is good because it shows that there will be a lot of overtaking. There is a very fast section in the first sector. Then a very tight second sector under the bridge before the straight return line. There are different types of turns. It seems fast and I am very excited. »
« The two long straight lines will force teams to set up with little downforce, which will make the fast corners at the beginning of the lap very difficult,” added the Frenchman. Drawing from his experience in the simulator, Gasly expects these corners in the first sector to be the most demanding of the circuit: « From turns four, five, six, and seven, it’s very fast. Turn seven is an endless left turn, you can’t see the end, it’s just very long. The tires will feel it a lot.”
Kevin Magnussen shares the opinion of the AlphaTauri driver. For the Danish driver, this turn seven is very important as it conditions a significant overtaking opportunity: « There is a long straight after this turn, so you have to try to find the best trajectory and I don’t think it’s that simple. »
The track also offers a much narrower section towards the end of the tour. Barriers have been placed there to create a blind chicane where no mistakes will be allowed.
« There is a low-speed chicane, part of which is blind,” adds Magnussen. « You have to change direction very quickly to reach the entrance of turn 16. So I think there are a lot of challenges, there are unique turns here. »
Finally, the Haas driver drew a parallel between this Miami circuit and the one in Baku where the Azerbaijan Grand Prix takes place: “This circuit is like a mini-Baku. It has very long straights, low-speed corners, and a few fast turns. It certainly won’t be difficult to overtake if you have a better pace. Baku has always been an interesting race to watch. I hope it will be the same here.”
