Formula 1 moves from shore to shore, from the Red Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, from the Asian continent to North America and from Saudi Arabia to the United States, further confirmation of the truly global nature of this sport today.

The Miami Grand Prix is the first of three to be held in the United States this year, as has been the case since 2023, with the Floridian round joining the calendar in 2022, a few months after Jeddah made its debut. The race is held on a track around the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the Miami Dolphins NFL team and one of nine ATP Masters venues.

Miami is also the fourth race of the year to feature a special edition of the Pirelli Podium Cap. Turquoise and pink are the iconic colours of Miami's Art Deco style, embodying the city's sunny and tropical spirit. These are therefore the colours that inspired Denis Dekovic, the designer of the Pirelli Design 2025 Podium Cap collection.

The Compounds

The trio of compounds chosen by Pirelli is the same as that used a fortnight ago in Saudi Arabia: C3 as Hard, C4 as Medium and C5 as Soft. Again, just as in Jeddah, this is a step softer than last season.

The surface of the track that runs around the stadium is very smooth, exposing the tyres to moderate longitudinal and lateral forces. Thermal degradation will be a major factor, as temperatures are expected to be very high, given that last year's track temperature exceeded 55 °C. The surface was relaid in 2023 and, as with the other temporary Grand Prix circuits, grip levels will increase significantly the more the track rubbers-in across the weekend. The presence of support races for the F1 Academy and Porsche Carrera Cup North America will only add to this phenomenon.

In 2024

So far, the Miami Grand Prix has been a one-stop race, including last year's. The Medium was the tyre of choice for the opening stint for 15 of the 20 drivers, before a switch mainly to the Hard, with just a couple of drivers opting for the Soft, which actually displayed relatively low degradation. The performance differential between all three of last year's compounds, C2, C3 and C4, was quite small. The strategy, particularly the timing of the pit stop, was affected by a Virtual Safety Car, which then morphed into a full Safety Car period. It will be interesting to see if this year's softer compounds will open the door to a two-stop strategy.

The Track

The Miami International Autodrome is 5.412 kilometres long, the race being run over 57 laps. The layout incorporates parking lots, service roads and some public roads with a total of 19 corners, seven to the right and 12 to the left. The site is generally flat but some elevation changes have been built in, especially between turns 13 and 16, where the track runs under overpasses, including on and off-ramps for the Florida Turnpike, with an uneven surface.

As at Jeddah two weeks ago, there are three DRS zones here, the ends of which provide the track's best overtaking opportunities, at turns 1, 11 and 17. The combined effect of slipstreaming and DRS produces very high speeds: last year, Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) hit 355 km/h in the race.

Keyword: Sprint

The Miami Grand Prix is the second of six Sprint format events on the calendar. Last year, a significant rule change was introduced, not to the actual format, but to the parc ferme regulations for these races. Up until 2024, car set-up could not be altered as from the start of Sprint Qualifying, whereas since last year, parc ferme rules are suspended from the end of the Sprint Race to the start of qualifying for Sunday's Grand Prix.

This means car set-up can be modified based on data the teams acquire during the Sprint race, which is really the first true opportunity for a simulation run under Grand Prix conditions, especially in terms of assessing car behaviour, particularly the behaviour of the tyre compound chosen for the short race. The only key difference is the fuel load, as Sprint races only require one third of the fuel needed for the main event. However, teams all have simulation tools that allow them to effectively calculate how fuel weight affects tyre performance.

Statistics Corner

Max Verstappen and Red Bull won the first two editions of this race, in 2022 and 2023, while Lando Norris secured his maiden Formula 1 win here last year with McLaren. Each year has seen a different driver take pole position: Charles Leclerc and Ferrari in the inaugural edition, followed by Sergio Perez (Red Bull) in 2023, with his team-mate Verstappen securing the number one slot last year. So far, the quickest driver in qualifying has never won the race, but has always finished second. Apart from the four aforementioned drivers, only two others, the Spaniards Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz, have made it to the podium, both in third place.

This year's Miami Grand Prix will be the 80th round of the Drivers' Formula 1 World Championship to have been held in the United States of America, since its inception in 1950. The USA thus moves ahead of Germany and Great Britain to take second place on the list of countries to have hosted the most Grands Prix, leaving Italy out in front on 107.

To date, eleven venues have hosted these races: Austin (12 Grands Prix,) Dallas (1), Detroit (7), Indianapolis (19), Las Vegas (4), Long Beach (8), Miami (3), Phoenix (3), Riverside (1), Sebring (1) and Watkins Glen (20). Curious fact: the two drivers with the most USA wins will be racing this weekend in Miami and they are Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen with six victories apiece. As for the teams, thanks to Leclerc's win in Austin last year, Ferrari is now the most successful team in the USA with 14 wins to its name.