Miami GP offers F1 chance to dismiss ‘boring’ fears
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Red Bull's Max Verstappen won last year’s race in Miami.
PHOTO: AFP
MIAMI – The dreaded word “boring” has been reappearing in the vocabulary of Formula One, after a season dominated so far by defending champions Red Bull, so it is perhaps timely that the championship arrives in Miami this week.
The inaugural Miami Grand Prix in 2022 Netflix’s Drive To Survive.
The impact of the reality show on F1‘s growth in the US has been well documented and this season sees three grands prix in the country, with Las Vegas added to the calendar alongside the US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.
But while the anticipation is high, the current domination of Red Bull represents a risk to the country’s embrace of F1.
The four races in 2023 have all been won by Red Bull, with two victories apiece for two-time world champion Max Verstappen and his teammate Sergio Perez.
After last week’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which saw Perez on top of the podium ahead of Verstappen, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff warned about the races becoming “boring”. He said: “It was not a thriller. No overtaking, with a big pace difference, made it not great entertainment.”
Mercedes and Ferrari are struggling to match the Red Bull cars, forming a chasing pack along with Aston Martin.
“There are two Red Bulls, and then there are six cars, and a long way off is the third division. That has been the pattern and we have to shake that up somehow,” added Wolff.
Verstappen won the 2022 race in Miami, after a thrilling battle with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc but there were complaints about the surface on the new track built around the Hard Rock Stadium.
Organisers have resurfaced the entire track and hope that the new material will encourage overtaking – and a more entertaining race – but the layout remains the same.
Real water features have also been added to the “Marina” area that received plenty of social media mocking for its fake scene of yachts parked on blue plastic.
Another change is to the paddock area, which was packed last season with VIP guests often getting in the way of team staff and mechanics.
The new set-up sees the paddock moved into the stadium, where fans will be able to view the going-ons from the stand.
On the track, fans will have a local favourite to cheer for this time with Williams’ rookie American Logan Sargeant searching for his first points. AFP
