2022 Miami Grand Prix Preview

The Miami Grand Prix makes its Formula One debut this weekend, as the Miami International Autodrome hosts the fifth round of the 2022 World Championship, becoming the USA’s eleventh different F1 venue. The 5.412km circuit is set in the immense Hard Rock Stadium complex: a venue familiar with putting on a show, having hosted no less than six Super Bowls. The track itself features 19 corners and three straights, designed with a street-circuit feel to encourage thrilling racing.

Across the weekend, Williams Racing will be hosting activities at two locations in The Magic City for fans to enjoy. At 846 Lincoln Road, the team’s exclusive Miami collection will be available to shop, alongside our FW44 show car and Williams Esports Rigs. Fans can also expect appearances from Nicholas Latifi and Alex Albon, as well as Jost Capito and Logan Sargeant.

The team will also be at the W South Beach from 5-8th May, where our spectacular graffiti-livered FW41 will be on display, designed by contemporary artist, SURGE.

Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance: A new circuit always a presents an exciting challenge to the drivers and engineers. Although the drivers will learn the circuit very quickly, the behaviour of the tyres, the initial ageing of the asphalt and the local conditions will ensure that there is a lot for the engineers to optimise throughout the weekend.

The Miami International Autodrome is a new circuit, which features several long straights, two fast corner sequences and one low-speed twisty section. This is all within a 5.4km anti-clockwise layout. There will be compromises to be made between the various sections of the track and so the team will have quite a task to find the best overall lap time.

Pirelli have provided compounds from the middle of their range, which is the same as in Imola. These are expected to suit the circuit layout quite well, although the exact tyre behaviour will depend on the track temperature and the chosen setup. It is this interaction between setup and tyre behaviour that will provide the drivers and engineers the biggest challenge of the weekend.

The weather looks likely to be hot and sunny with a small chance of thundery showers, and with the key sessions taking place in the mid to late afternoon, it could be quite punishing for the cars, tyres and drivers.

Nicholas Latifi: I’m looking forward to getting out to Miami and experiencing a brand-new event. It’s a really exciting weekend for Formula One and to see the sport go from strength to strength in the US is great. I’ve only experienced the track on the simulator, but it seems like a good combination of slow-speed technical sections and more fast and flowing elements, so it’ll be an interesting challenge.

Alex Albon: It’s very exciting to be heading to Miami; it’s a brand-new track and a home race for Dorilton. I’ve driven the track in the simulator and my initial feeling is that it’s going to be very technical with a lot of different style corners. The venue itself looks incredible, and I’m sure fans are in for a great weekend.