Clive Bowen, designer of the Miami track, admits he was left feeling embarrassed by the complaints from drivers upon Formula 1’s first visit.
The debut of the Miami Grand Prix was an important step for Formula 1, kicking-off the series’ expansion in the United States as the first of two grands prix to be staged in the nation in 2022.
From 2023, it will become three when the Las Vegas Grand Prix joins the fold.
Throughout the paddock, there was plenty of praise for the spectacle that was the 2022 Miami Grand Prix, but as for the Miami International Autodrome track itself, designed around the grounds of the Hard Rock Stadium, the drivers were not particularly happy.
A main area for concern was the tight and technical section around the Turn 14/15 chicane, the likes of Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz believing it is not suitable for a modern Formula 1 car. Lewis Hamilton likened it to a B&Q car park.
Sainz would find the concrete there in practice, the same true for Esteban Ocon, with safety concerns also arising due to the absence of TecPro barriers.
That slow section was, as Miami GP managing partner Tom Garfinkel put it, a “necessary evil” to not only free up space for the rest of the track, but also to slow drivers down due to the lack of run-off space there.
Nonetheless, design changes will be considered going forward.
In addition, drivers also took issue with the asphalt, including the levels of grip offline. Sergio Perez went as far as to call the surface a “joke”.
And it was this criticism of the surface which was taken to heart by Bowen, boss of Apex Circuit Design which created the track in conjunction with the FIA and F1 engineer Craig Wilson.
In an interview with Motor Sport Magazine, he said: “Actually, it was embarrassment on my part personally, because there’s a lot of time invested in getting this right.
“There’s professional pride involved, isn’t there?
“There was a lot of research undertaken. We didn’t go off-piste, it…
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