The organizers of the Miami Grand Prix have announced a series of upgrades for the 2023 edition of their event, including a resurfaced track and a new paddock location on the field of Hard Stadium Rock.
Formula One’s Miami GP opening has taken place in the surrounding area Miami Dolphins‘ Hard Rock Stadium last year and the race will return to the venue on May 7 of this year.
Updates to the facility will also include a new and expanded VIP Paddock Club building overlooking the pit lane and straight start/finish.
One criticism of the 2022 event is that the track surface was dilapidated at the weekend, making it difficult for drivers to get off the track and overtake. The organizers, led by Dolphins CEO Tom Garfinkel, are aiming to solve the problem and have hired renowned F1 racing experts Tilke to carry out the resurfacing of the track.
“We could have gone back to the track we had last year, because our goal was to have great races, lots of overtaking, parallelism, but the track we have five Last year there were parts where there was a line that should have been able to pass, and so we’re not happy with that,” Garfinkel said.
“We’re going through the investment and expense to go on and fix it up again in an effort to get it to where it races better.
“It’s been running well enough according to the teams and drivers, but we want it to be as good as possible, so that’s why we’re going to fix it.”
Changing the track layout was considered, especially the bends in Turns 14 and 15, but ultimately the configuration of the track will remain unchanged.
Garfinkel explains: “We spoke to all the team leaders, drivers, Formula 1 and FIA – having different opinions on the complexity. “Some drivers don’t like it; some of them think it’s fine; and throughout the network it’s the same feedback, everywhere: some like it, some not, one numbers don’t care.
“We’ve been through that with F1, FIA and Tilke and decided right now that we’re not going to make changes. We thought about flattening it out a bit — we’re still looking at that. That’s when we finalize things — but it’s going to stay the same for now.
“And that’s based on the feedback we got from all of them, which is very different, some people don’t like it, some people think that’s okay. Less congestion, so some areas the hotel is moving closer to the track, but the layout itself is basically the same.
“However, it will be recreated.”
The 2023 event will see the F1 field – the area where the teams compete throughout the weekend – move from a thin strip between the stadium and the garage to the pitch of Hard Rock Stadium. The move will create more space and will allow fans with a pass on the ground to view the training ground from above.
“The fans will be able to look down from the inside if you have an entry ticket or any ticket you can get at level 300, take a seat, inside the stadium and look down at the training ground and watch the action. the action is going on. down below,” said Garfinkel.
