In the summary: Lewis Hamilton compared the chicane at Turns 14 and 15 at Miami’s new circuit to driving a go-kart around a supermarket parking lot.
In short
Miami chicane ‘like a B&Q parking lot’, says Hamilton
Hamilton compared the chicane at Turns 14 and 15 at Miami’s new circuit to driving a go-kart around a supermarket parking lot.
The tight and twisty section of the second sector caused plenty of challenges for the drivers in Friday’s two practice sessions. Hamilton says the circuit is characterized by bumps and questions the need for the chicane at turns 14 and 15.
“It’s kind of crazy when you think people these days should be able to make a flat road relatively easy,” Hamilton said, “but there are really big bumps in so many places where the track meets elsewhere, so I don’t know if they’ll be able to rectify that overnight or improve it.
“Otherwise the track is quite pleasant to drive, except for the chicane. It’s so tight. It reminds me of being in a B&Q parking lot when I was seven in a go-kart between cars. Maybe in the future they can remove that one and it will improve the track.
Miami Grand Prix CEO Richard Cregan told RaceFans on Friday that they have no plans to change course.
Norris not surprised by Mercedes pace in training
Lando Norris says he is “not at all” surprised by Mercedes’ pace on the first day of practice at the Miami Grand Prix.
George Russell was the fastest of them all on Friday, setting a 1’29.938 which was a tenth quicker than championship leader Charles Leclerc. Asked if he was surprised to see Mercedes so high on the timing screens, Norris replied “not at all”.
“They were P4, P5 in Bahrain,” Norris said. “They’ve been strong all year. Just because they have rebounds, everyone expects them to be terrible. So no, not at all.
“They are extremely strong in low-speed corners. Mercedes has probably been one of the best slow-speed cars all season, but no one ever looks very well at the GPS and doesn’t pick it up. So in no way surprised. It just makes us want to work even harder and try to beat them again.
Ocon reprimanded for Russell pit lane near miss
Esteban Ocon received his first misconduct reprimand of the 2022 season after nearly driving into George Russell as he left his garage at the start of first practice.
Mercedes released Russell from the garage under the green flag, with Ocon released from his garage by his team. Seeing Russell approaching, an Alpine mechanic attempted to wave Ocon to a stop, but he continued down pit lane, forcing Russell to stop.
After investigating the incident, stewards issued Ocon a misconduct reprimand, his first of the season. Stewards cited Carlos Sainz Jnr receiving a misconduct reprimand for a similar incident at the Bahrain Grand Prix as why Ocon received an identical penalty.
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social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
— Jake Dennis 🔺 (@JakeDennis19) May 6, 2022
Watching @F1 FP1 on a delay. I find it hard to believe that the sound effects at the start of FP1 were *not* dubbed on the show given that the stands are, very clearly, not full… #MiamiGP
— Motorsport Broadcasting (@f1broadcasting) May 6, 2022
Mario & Michael Andretti chatting in Alpine hospitality this afternoon.
Totally random, I’m sure. pic.twitter.com/TqF2neKTcM
— Nathan Brown (@By_NathanBrown) May 6, 2022
James Corden just carried Daniel Ricciardo around the media enclosure over his shoulder. This course. #MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/LpmOKIIW4c
— Laura Winter (@lauracwinter) May 6, 2022
Miami! pic.twitter.com/17MCISFjJa
— Jenna Fryer (@JennaFryer) May 6, 2022
Yesterday at the mythical @DAYTONA circuit, World Center of Racing, talk with @NASCAR President Jim France and @ACCUSmayor George Silbermann on the development of motorsport in the United States 🇺🇸 and around the world pic.twitter.com/k8mT8TnIx0
— Mohammad Ben Sulayem (@Ben_Sulayem) May 6, 2022
Space accessible to wheelchairs, giant screen, in the sun or in the shade. Welcome fans! #fiawec #6hspa pic.twitter.com/3a9zNB51Cf
— Spa-Francorchamps (@circuitspa) May 6, 2022
Connections
Interesting motorsport links:
F1 lands in US for Miami GP amid underlying controversy (Guardian)
“Last May, a recall election was called to remove council members who voted to bring the race to Miami Gardens. Worse than those lawmakers who went to bed with F1, residents felt for accepting a bad deal – one that only promised $5 million in community benefits and 5% of revenue for the city. So figure about $25 million in total.”
F1 Grand Prix Miami: Building Motorsport’s Biggest Party (Meeting Room)
“Now that it’s built, the numbers around the race are staggering. The Miami Grand Prix contains: 48 million tons of asphalt for the track, 10 grandstands, 14 million pounds of steel and aluminum Tower Event Group and Eventstar, 1,100 restroom stalls, 299,813,447 feet of fiber and copper cabling.”
Max Verstappen leads F1’s changing of the guard (Wall Street Journal)
“The son of a former journeyman F1 driver, he was in go-karts as a toddler and in the fastest and most prestigious series in motorsport before many of his friends got licenses. was so young when he arrived in F1, in fact, that officials later imposed a minimum racing age of 18. This is now known as the Verstappen rule.
George Russell believes Mercedes can still win this thing (GQ)
“I’m here to win championships, and to do that you have to beat everyone. At the moment we’re not in that position, and we have to work together to move this team forward and give us the opportunity to fight for wins. So I don’t care if I’m ahead (Hamilton) or if he’s ahead of me if we’re fighting for fifth and sixth.
Catch the sunset with Formula 1’s Lando Norris (Esquire)
“I’m very open to working with my teammates, and being friendly and close. I think it’s easy for it to slip, actually. Collaborating is in the best interest of the team, and if I want to win, I can only do if the team is better.”
“I’m just doing my job and, if people are interested, that’s fantastic. I don’t mind, I don’t make any effort to be different. That’s who I am, that’s who I was before and what I will always be.”
“Max and Yuki were joined by Red Bull Athletes Supercross 250 East Champion Jett Lawrence and Tokyo Skateboard Olympian Zion Wright for a true Florida experience and a showdown in the swamp.”
“To be honest, I deleted the apps, just because it’s easier. It wasn’t necessarily a criticism of me, but I see a lot of messages from people who accept me (for things more important) and it won’t be the immediate future. It’s a process, it’s not going to happen overnight.”
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