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on track
Formula 1 is coming to Miami, the perfect home for its blend of speed and glamour. BY BILL KEARNEY
M
iami’s Hard Rock Stadium has seen six Super Bowls, the World Series, concerts by U2 and Madonna, as well as Serena Williams’ 120-plus mph tennis serve. This May, it’ll also see 200mph Formula 1 racecars whipping their way around the site in the first-ever Miami Grand Prix, one of two Formula 1 races slated for North America this year.
According to the rest of the world, Formula 1 — which boasts teams from Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren — is the pinnacle of auto racing, with competitions traditionally hosted in exotic destinations such as Sakhir, Bahrain, and Monaco. But, how does F1 stack up against America’s NASCAR? F1 cars are slightly more powerful than a NASCAR vehicle, with 800hp, but half the weight. They reach 200mph in 9 seconds; NASCARs reach 160mph. F1 drivers can experience 6.78 Gs when breaking for a turn, whereas
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the goal in NASCAR is to not use your brakes. The annual budget for a NASCAR team is around $7 million with a car that costs about $400,000; an F1 team’s annual budget might be $175 million with a car that costs $9 to $11 million. All that agility will come into play in Miami, where track designers created 36 versions of the layout before settling on the current form. The course will wind its way through the parking lot and around the stadium for 3.36 miles, incorporating three straightaways, a chicane, and a total of 19 turns.
