Sun, palm trees, a turquoise sea… The paddock will discover a new city and circuit this weekend. The drivers and the teams meet in Miami, for the fifth round of the championship, from May 6 to 8, on a brand new track. The newborn, baptized Autodrome international, is hosting the first of the two American events of the season, before Austin in October.
The Florida Circuit winds its way for 5.4 kilometers around Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Dolphins (NFL) franchise, in the heart of Miami Gardens. Its long curves and fast turns promise a spectacular race. However, the choice of destination and installation methods have fueled controversy.
Oh Miami, you’re a beauty #MiamiGP #F1 @f1miami pic.twitter.com/q2MX9tggsl
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 4, 2022
It is primarily the timing that speaks. F1 is exported to the other side of the Atlantic while the European season started just two weeks ago, near Imola. During the next race weekend, the drivers will return to the Old Continent, to Barcelona then Monaco… before returning to the from azerbaijan and Canada.
These incessant plane trips seem contradictory to the negative carbon footprint roadmap set by Formula 1 itself in 2019, with the aim of “maximize the logistics and efficiency of journeys by optimizing processes and volumes“. An audit published by F1 in 2021 estimated the production of the paddock at 256,000 tonnes of carbon per year. That is the equivalent of 30,000 British households over the same period.
The choice of Miami seems contradictory. After years of negotiations, and a first race project by the sea, the circuit and all its equipment ended up emerging from the ground in the large parking areas around Hard Rock Stadium. The construction of the circuit did not fail to raise controversy, between complaints from residents for fear of the deafening noise (they were finally dismissed by the courts) and questions about the viability of the route outside the great barnum of F1. As with the street circuits, the installation is not here to stay: everything is set up a few weeks before the race weekend, then dismantled immediately after.
“The only permanently constructed structure is the first floor of the pit building and paddock. Everything else is temporary”explained Tyler Epp, chief of operations of the event, to Forbes, Monday. A construction effort will be renewed every year, during the ten years of the contract signed to organize the Miami Grand Prix.
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Among the equipment, the asphalt is also talking. In Florida, the asphalt that the single-seaters will swallow will be different from that of the other circuits, consisting of a mixture of limerock and granite, to deal with the strong natural abrasiveness of the surfaces of South Florida.
Several tons of granite – which constitutes 60% of the surface of the track – were therefore imported from Georgia, the neighboring state, and transported by train, to build the circuit, as confirmed by the British company Apex Circuit Design, in charge of the construction site, at Motorsport. A heavy and restrictive organization, especially since the parameter of abrasiveness still questions the pilots. “I just hope the asphalt will be level”said Sergio Perez, the only one to have driven on the track in April for a Red Bull promotional video.
From criticism to mockery, there is only one step in which social networks are having a field day. Many have had fun the fake “marina” installed in the hollow of turn 7. While the circuit is located several kilometers from the ocean, yachts were transported by trucks to be installed on a wooden and concrete floor of a few hundred square meters, right in the middle of the track. This was then covered with panels simulating a large expanse of water.
The installation, superficial, which stands out in the landscape, should allow the company MSC Cruises to highlight its offers, with prices up to 36,000 dollars per yacht for four people, according to the Miami Herald.
Nothing to see here, just Craig Slater having a swim at the #MiamiGP‘s fake harbor pic.twitter.com/LB48SQgedq
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) May 3, 2022
This port with crystalline plastic water denotes all the more with the environmental reality of the Florida city. A study by Nature Climate Change, a leading scientific journal, cited by the Global Climate Pledge organization thus places Miami as the second most vulnerable city in the world in the face of rising water levels, the real one. An irony which the quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel wanted to take advantage of to raise awareness of the cause, by wearing a t-shirt inscribed “Miami 2060: First Underwater Grand Prix. Act now or swim laterduring the Grand Prix presentation festivities on Wednesday.
The German pilot, who wears a commemorative helmet for the same cause all weekend, insisted on this subject on the microphone of the British channel Sky Sports. “I find it alarming that we are going to a place that will not be here in 50 years. Everyone behaves and carries on with their business as if nothing had happened. It bothers me a lot. The situation is very, very serious. […] Sometimes the truth isn’t very pretty, but it’s worth sharing when it’s so important. This should show us that we are in danger and that we must act now, or there will be much suffering.“
️ “I find it alarming that we go to a place that’s not going to be here in 50 years time.”
Sebastian Vettel explains the t-shirt he was spotted in, which read: “Miami 2060 – 1st Grand Prix Underwater – Act Now or Swim Later.” pic.twitter.com/IBXEt4izy0
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) May 6, 2022
With this race, the FIA and Formula 1 want to penetrate even more the American market, which has taken a liking to the discipline for a few years (+54% audience in the country in 2021 according to ABC, and taken over by the AFP). In Miami, the organization wanted to set up an event “glamor and showbiz”as pointed out on Monday washington post. To access the autodrome, the cheapest tickets, for Friday only, already amounted to 300 dollars, which is among the most expensive prices of the whole season.