In a video posted to the team’s social media accounts, Sergio Perez drove an old Red Bull vehicle around the brand-new Miami circuit.
In a few weeks, Formula One will return to Florida for the first time since 1959 when the circus arrives in Miami.
The drivers will weave their way around the Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins NFL team, over the 5.4-kilometer Miami Gardens Circuit.
Perez wrangled the V8 Red Bull around the unfinished circuit, manoeuvring his way through the track marked at the time by cones, bollards, and temporary obstacles, while giving the ground crew a nice repair job on the grass on the stadium’s spotless pitch.
The lack of grip on the uneven surface was obvious, but the conditions should be easier to negotiate when the cars take to the finished track in May.
This year’s race in Miami will be the 73rd Formula 1 championship grand prix in the United States, and spectators will be able to take in the sights of the circuit from the stadium’s high viewing points, as well as from the comfort of an artificial yacht club on the circuit’s inner.
However, you’d have to dig deep into your pockets for the general admission for all three days would cost over a thousand dollars – but the track was built for close-quarter racing, which the organisers believe will be worth the investment, and we hope the new cars can keep up the exhilarating action we’ve seen in the first three rounds of the 2022 season.
Craig Wilson, F1’s head of vehicle performance, was one of the major protagonists in the circuit’s creation, and he disclosed the logistical hurdles.
“It is actually quite a restricted site to work on, both in terms of existing infrastructure and operationally,” he said in an interview with Formula1.com.
“The south-east to south corner section is where the Miami Open tennis is held and houses all of their courts and infrastructure, plus a gondola system running above it,” he added.
“…and the eastern section has a combination of Florida Highway on and off ramps from the Florida Turnpike and some historical trees, both of which that we had to navigate around, which placed a heavy restriction in this area.”
“Then there is the matter that there is a big stadium and all its infrastructure right in the middle of the site that has to operate during the NFL season.”
Residents of Miami Gardens have also filed a lawsuit against the event, claiming that the circuit will emit “unavoidable noise,” which is currently being reviewed in court.
