Need to know ahead of the Miami Grand Prix

F1 Grand Prix, GP Miami, Miami

The Formula One's field headed to the United States for the Miami Grand Prix this weekend, with the Sprint format in play once again after an action-packed event in China last time out.

Following the opening five races of the season, the F1 field has made its first trip to America for the first of three races to be held in the United States of America this year.

11th US venue - The Miami Grand Prix made its Formula One debut two years ago after the Miami International Autodrome hosted the fifth round of the 2022 World Championship, becoming the USA’s eleventh different F1 venue. The US Grand Prix has been held on six different venues – Sebring, Riverside, Watkins Glen, Phoenix, Indianapolis and Austin. The other races were held at Long Beach, Las Vegas, Detroit and Dallas.

76th race in the USA – In total, Formula One has visited the USA 76 times of which 11 grands prix were Indy 500 races.

Average length – The Miami International Autodrome has a total length of 5.412km which makes it an average circuit on the current race calendar in terms of length. Drivers will need to complete 57 laps today in a bid to cover the entire race distance of 308.326km.

Hybrid track - The challenging track features 19 corners and three straights, designed with a street-circuit feel to encourage thrilling racing. As many as 75 different layouts were considered during its design, 36 of which were simulated with the goal of creating a track that was good for racing.

Tyres - For Miami, Pirelli has nominated three compounds in the middle of the range, with C2 as P Zero White hard, C3 as P Zero Yellow medium and C4 as P Zero Red soft. The focus is on versatility for this street track run around the Hard Rock Stadium, which takes in 19 corners as well as three long straights.

Iconic location – Located in the suburb of Miami Gardens, the 5.412km Miami International Autodrome is set in the immense Hard Rock Stadium complex: a venue familiar with putting on a show, having hosted no less than six Super Bowls, two Baseball World Series and concerts for musical icons including The Rolling Stones, U2, Coldplay and Madonna.

Intense research – The Miami track has been created specially to bring Formula 1 to the city and is designed to be a temporary layout but with a permanent feel. In order to guarantee good racing, as many as 75 different layouts are said to have been considered, with 36 of those being simulated.

The most successful - As of 2024, the US Grand Prix has been held 52 times with Ferrari being the most successful team thanks to their ten wins. Lining up behind the Scuderia are Lotus and McLaren with eight victories apiece and Mercedes with five triumphs. Red Bull have also won the US Grand Prix four times.

When it comes to the drivers, it is Lewis Hamilton with the best record as the Briton has won on six occasions, with Michael Schumacher having recorded five victories. Max Verstappen, Graham Hill and Jim Clark both won the US Grand Prix on three occasions apiece.

Pit lane - The Miami International Autodrome has an interesting curved pit lane entry with drivers forced to adhere to a speed limit of 80km/h in the pit lane.

Changes – There have been numerous changes to the track for the third year of running in Miami. First and foremost, the pit entry has been moved towards T19. The barriers have been realigned in the T5 run-off zone in order create on opening. Moreover gates have been installed after T8 and between T9 and T10. Between Turns 16 and 17, the walls have been realigned on the left-hand side.

Powerful DRS zones – The Miami International Autodrome will offer three DRS zones to drivers to try to execute an overtaking manoeuvre.

The first DRS zone has a detection point of 90m after Turn 8 and an activation point of 105m after Turn 9. The second DRS zone has a detection point of 70m after Turn 16 and an activation point of 525m after Turn 16. Drivers will be able to activate the DRS for a third time when they hit the apex at Turn 19 with this third DRS Zone having a detection point of 15m after Turn 17.

Reconstruction - For 2023, part of the paddock was moved into the Hard Rock Stadium, with the team hospitality units having been relocated on the football field. A new permanent three-tier Paddock Club building was also constructed above the team garages, and spectator capacity has been increased after almost 250,000 fans visited two years ago.

Multiculturalism - Hispanics and Latinos comprise over 70% of the population of Miami, with 35% of the population being of Cuban origin, culturally centred around the 50,000-strong neighbourhood of Little Havana, located just to the west of downtown.

Fun facts - Miami is one of the world’s greatest and most iconic tourist destinations – thanks to its sub tropical climate, pristine beaches and relaxed ambiance. In total, over 14 million tourists visit Miami per year with the city being the US’s warmest location in winter. It is no surprise that the sun tan lotion was invented in Miami.

It is the only US city that was founded by a woman. It was a local businesswoman called Julia Tuttle who played a big role in extending the new Florida East Coast Railroad to Miami which led to the development of modern Miami.

Miami received its name from one of the tribes that lived there. Next to having beautiful beaches and two national parks, Miami is home to the world’s largest collection of art deco architecture. Moreover, the city is famous for great agricultural activities with avocados, tomatoes and mangoes being the numer one products in Miami.