F1 Miami GP 2023: Find out the Weather Forecast, Number of Laps, Expected Strategy, and DRS Zones

Read on to find out all about the F1 Miami GP 2023: From the weather forecast, number of laps to the DRS zone changes at the Miami International Autodrome.

F1 Miami GP 2023: Find out the Weather Forecast, Number of Laps, Expected Strategy, and DRS Zones

(Pictured: The Miami International Autodrome) Read on to find out about the F1 Miami GP 2023's weather forecast, number of laps, etc.

Formula 1 heads to Miami this weekend. The ‘Miami Grand Prix‘ will be the first of three races that will be held in the United States this season. This will be the second edition of the race, with last season’s event being won by Max Verstappen, narrowly, from Charles Leclerc. This time around too, Verstappen is one of the favorites – right alongside Sergio Perez.

The story this season has gone like this: Verstappen and Perez have traded wins. The Dutchman won in Bahrain and Australia, while his teammate won in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan. Right now, Verstappen has a lead of six points. It seems that in 2023, the main title battle will be between the Red Bull teammates. No other team can touch them right now, though this may change, starting in Miami.

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They’ve just been very dominant – the RB19, especially during the races, is supreme. Leclerc may have taken two poles in Baku, but he was outclassed by a mile during both the sprint and the feature race. Miami will be another crucial stop in the title fight. The gap is small enough to be matched, or perhaps just overturned if Perez can win out here. This race will truly cement his title credentials, after he beat Verstappen relatively on merit, last time out in Baku.

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The Miami GP will be held at the Miami International Autodrome, on the grounds of the Hard Rock stadium. It is a 5.412 km long circuit, with 19 turns, and 57 laps in total. This makes for a total race distance of 308.326 kilometers. While it’s technically a (temporary) purpose-built circuit, it is referred to by many as a street circuit. The race itself is very physically challenging, mainly due to the weather: It’s held in the afternoon, with the sun out, and very high temperatures and humidity.

Ferrari will be introducing the first of their major upgrades in Miami, but it’s not expected to help them catch Red Bull. In such a situation, one would expect that the battle for the win will, as it has been almost all year, will be between Verstappen and Perez. But anything is possible: A safety car, mechanical or otherwise retirement, can spice things up. There’s also the possibility of rain!

Read More: Charles Leclerc reveals Ferrari’s Miami GP upgrades not enough to catch the dominant Red Bulls

F1 Miami GP 2023 Weather Forecast

There is some possibility of rain at the F1 Miami GP 2023
There is some possibility of rain at the F1 Miami GP 2023

Miami is known for its hot, humid weather. It’s also very rainy, and potentially, all three factors will be in play this weekend. It’s possible, even likely, that it will rain before, after, or during the race on Sunday. It may well rain during it as well. Around qualifying too, there is a chance of rain. This will certainly spice up the weekend, and while Max Verstappen is fantastic in the wet, this does open up some opportunities for the teams behind. A more detailed forecast, according to AccuWeather, is as follows:

Friday

Around the time of the first practice session, it will be dry, but it will be rather cloudy. The cloud cover, around this time, is expected to be around 49 percent, reducing to 26 percent by the end. The temperatures will hover around the 30°C (86°F) range. The wind will flow ENE, at 15 km/h, which will intensify to around 17 km/h by the end of the session. The wind gusts will come in at around 28 km/h to 32 km/h. The relative humidity will be 47 percent.

For the second practice session, it will still remain dry. The cloud cover will stabilize and will remain at around 26 percent throughout the session. Over the course of the session, the temperatures will be around the 28 (82.4°F) to 29°C (84.2°F) range. The winds will intensify, now flowing at ENE 20 km/h. The same will happen to the wind gusts, and they will come in at around 39 to 35 km/h. The relative humidity will range from 47 to 55 percent.

Saturday

For the third practice session of the weekend, dry conditions will prevail. But it will still be cloudy – a sign of what’s to come later on in the weekend. The cloud cover will range around 46 percent. The temperatures will range between 29 (84.2°F) to 31°C (87.8°F) over the course of the session. The winds will flow NE, at around 19-20 km/h. The wind gusts will range from 26 to 30 km/h. The relative humidity will range between 51 to 47 percent.

By the end of the session, the conditions for rain will begin to form. For qualifying, it’s forecasted to rain, though not very hard. The overall rain is estimated to be around 0.5 mm. The temperatures will hover around 30 (86°F) to 29°C (84.2°F). The winds will continue to flow NE at 22 km/h, shifting to ENE at 22 km/h by the end of the session. The average humidity will be around 52 to 55 percent. The overall chance of rain is 51 to 47 percent.

Sunday

In the hours before the start of the race, a thunderstorm is forecasted. For most of the race, it is expected to be ‘intermittently’ cloudy. But there’s still a chance that it may rain, especially towards the end of the race, depending on any stoppages. At the start of the race, the temperatures will hover around 29°C (84.2°F). The relative humidity will be around 59 percent.

And it will be very windy. Winds will flow E 26 km/h for most of the race’s duration. Wind gusts will range at around 52 to 48 km/h, towards the latter stages of the session. The cloud cover will be around 61 to 46 percent. The chance of rain, through the various stages of the race, ranges from around 34 to 51 percent, towards the end. This will spice up the race, and the teams’ strategies.

F1 Miami GP 2023 Expected Strategy

(Pictured: Hannah Schmitz, First Strategy Engineer at Red Bull) With some chance of rain, strategy will be very important in the F1 Miami GP 2023's outcome
(Pictured: Hannah Schmitz, First Strategy Engineer at Red Bull) With some chance of rain, strategy will be very important in the F1 Miami GP 2023’s outcome

Most teams and drivers opted for a one-stop strategy last season. Track temperatures could be very high – up to 60°C! The track has been completely resurfaced, though, so the asphalt abrasion will not be a very big problem. But this also means that the grip will be lower. The traction will be about average, but track evolution will be VERY high.

The braking, and lateral forces will be medium, as well as the tire stress. The downforce required will be a little lower than average. The tire compounds chosen for the race by Pirelli are C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium), and C4 (Soft). While last year, rain didn’t hit the race, this year, it’s a real possibility. This will have to be taken into account when deciding the strategy for the race, with perhaps some teams holding off on a pit stop, so they can pit for intermediate/wet tires if it rains.

F1 Miami GP 2023 DRS Zones

Two DRS zones at the Miami International Autodrome have been shortened for the F1 Miami GP 2023
Two DRS zones at the Miami International Autodrome have been shortened for the F1 Miami GP 2023

Recently, the FIA has been making various changes to DRS zones. In Jeddah, they shifted the detection point of the main straight DRS zone. They added a new DRS zone in Australia. In Azerbaijan, they moved the detection point of the final DRS zone to 100m later. These were done in a bid to make DRS less effective. They’ve also made changes in Miami: Two DRS zones have been shortened.

The DRS zone on the run to turn 11 has been shortened by 75 meters. This is a result of the detection point moving from 30 meters after turn 9, to 105 meters after turn 9. The same length change has been made to the second DRS zone on the back straight. It will now start at 525 meters after turn 16, having been 450 meters after it before the change.

Whether or not this is a good idea is up for debate. There was not much overtaking last year, especially on the front. Charles Leclerc was overtaken by Max Verstappen very soon, yes, however, he was not able to make a move on the Dutchman after that, at all. So, now, with shortened DRS zones, it’ll be interesting to see how the race turns out. Perhaps there’ll be even fewer overtakes this time around!

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