“Miami was probably up there with those sort of races,” Mercedes state Miami as toughest of all races on the calendar
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Mike Elliot
Last week we witnessed the first ever Miami Grand Prix, the week was exciting as we saw many familiar faces going up and down the paddock. However, the race was not so easy on the drivers. The track, which is a temporary track, was not perfect. Many drivers stated that it was “different” from what they usually race on.
The temperature and humidity of Miami wasn’t any help, either. The temperatures were above 30°C (86°F), which made the track temperatures exceedingly hot. The tyre temperatures and wear was affected by all of this a lot.
Watch: Why was the track surface SO bad in Miami?
F1 drivers sweat a lot in the cockpit, and lose about 3 – 5 KG weight in every race, so obviously Miami went down hard on them. But this is not the first time that F1 drivers had to drive on such a track. Previously, tracks like Singapore and Malaysia have had the reputation of being physical challenges for the drivers. Mercedes now believe that Miami has become one of these tracks.
Also read: Miami GP shatters all records in US TV history
Mercedes state that the track is “up there” with other tough tracks.
Mercedes technical director, Mike Elliot has stated that the track is as tough as other tracks like Singapore and Malaysia.
“I believe George [Russell] made a comment in the press that he had found that pretty hard,” Elliott said in Mercedes’ post-race debrief video when asked if the drivers were more exhausted than usual,” Elliot said, as quoted by PlanetF1.
“Obviously he was battling through the field in a race that was both hot and humid and those two conditions of hot and humid mean you sweat a lot in the car and the drivers actually lose a considerable amount of weight during the race just in that sort of sweat that’s lost to the atmosphere.
“I am sure they have done more difficult races in the past. Malaysia in the past has been a really difficult race for both heat and humidity, but Miami was probably up there with those sort of races from the past.” said Elliot.
George Russell somehow managed to finish P5 after starting from P12, and his teammate Lewis Hamilton finished right behind him at P6.
Also read: Lewis Hamilton to retire early? “The situation at Mercedes is certainly evolving”
Also read: Max Verstappen keeping Red Bull on its toes despite registering yet another victory in Miami
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Gunaditya Tripathi
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