First look at the new Miami International Autodrome in F1 22

2022 Miami Grand Prix

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Codemasters have revealed how the new Miami International Autodrome will look for players of the upcoming 2022 edition of the official Formula 1 game.

F1 22 screenshot
The run to turn one is fairly short

The 5.4-kilometre, 19-turn track which will hold this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix is a temporary facility laid out around the Hard Rock Stadium. It was created by Apex Circuit Design and took a little over a year to build.

F1 22 screenshot
Drivers build up speed through turns two and three

From the start/finish line, drivers quickly arrive at a three-turn sequence beginning with a right-hander which requires moderate braking. A fast left and longer right-hand bend follows, with asphalt run-off to the left.

F1 22 screenshot
Turns four and five are among the quickest on the track

The course runs past the stadium before drivers arrive at its quickest corners. In F1 22’s simulation, a dab on the brakes is required at turn four and five, which bend left and right.

F1 22 screenshot
A trio of left-handers leads into what should be a good spot for overtaking

These lead directly into three tightening left-handers, turns six, seven and eight, which round one already-notorious landmark, the track’s ‘fake marina’. For drivers, perfecting the line through turn eight will be crucial to carry speed onto the first of two long acceleration zones which follow.

F1 22 screenshot
This flat-out sequence of bends has a Jeddah-esque feel

The track winds right and left here and includes a couple of officially-numbered corners which will be taken without a hint of a lift. The second DRS zone, after the start/finish straight, begins shortly after turn nine.

F1 22 screenshot
Slow turn 11 is likely to provide an opportunity for overtaking

That should make the run into turn 11 one of the best spots for overtaking on the track. But any drivers still side-by-side after it will have to sort themselves out quickly, as the section which follows it is twisty and narrow.

F1 22 screenshot
Turns 14 and 15 are narrow…
F1 22 screenshot
…and passing here will be tricky

That is especially true of the extremely tight turn 14-15 chicane. There is run-off straight ahead for the drivers, but the potential for track limits disputes and Safety Car-triggering incidents is high in a section of track which Yuki Tsunoda likened to a Formula E circuit.

F1 22 screenshot
Turn 16 is followed by a very long straight

Another sharp turn, 16, begins the second long acceleration zone. This is almost entirely straight and offers another opportunity for drivers to use DRS. It leads into a very slow left-hand hairpin which will require heavy braking.

F1 22 screenshot
The pit lane entrance may prove tricky even if you don’t lose your front wing

The two corners which follow are taken flat-out, and at the apex of the second drivers can open DRS for the third time as they reach the end of the lap. That’s assuming they don’t peel off into the pits which, unlike at most circuits, are located on the outside of the track. Drivers stay right after the turn 17 hairpin and have to tackle a slow chicane as they enter the pit lane.

Despite the tight entry to the pit lane, time lost here is likely to be lower than at other circuits, which could encourage teams to consider multi-stop strategies in the race.

The Miami International Autodrome continues F1’s trend towards quick tracks in city locations. There’s no denying it owes its place on the calendar more to the venue than the nature of its layout.

However the designers have managed to incorporate enough straights of decent length and width that passing should be possible, and a couple of corners which will show the kind of performance F1 cars are capable of. The tight corners in the third sector are more of a compromise, but they will lend a challenge of their own.

We’ll get our first glimpse of how well F1 cars suit the series’ newest venue when they take to the track for the opening practice session in a little over 24 hours’ time.

Miami International Autodrome, 2021
Miami International Autodrome, 2021

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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6 comments on “First look at the new Miami International Autodrome in F1 22”

  1. Have to admit that it does look rather dull, actually quite a bit worse than i thought it would.

    As a modern style car park circuit its basically just like the rest of them and the circuit itself doesn’t stand out or really look that interesting. Has all the modern trends and plenty of drs ao its another track designed to tick boxes.

    Shame when the us has so many great tracks and with opportunities to build something as great as cota that they end up going with these dull samey car parks. Just like when Watkins glen got replaced by Las Vegas in 1982 and set about the many horifically bad USA car park street tracks through the 1980s.

  2. Not sure why, but kind of reminds me of Valencia.

  3. The simulated fake marina looks unrealistically realistic. They’ll have to update that in a patch, for sure!

  4. Reminds me of Vietnam, though obviously we never saw how that panned out. And perhaps it’s just because of the semi-street circuit philosophy we appear to be moving towards.

    Nice to have video content. And Keith has a voice it turns out. I don’t know why, but sometimes it’s nice to be able to read an authors words knowing what they sound like.

  5. Excited to see how the race goes, might create a few spicy moments.

  6. Well, not a surprise, when I remember Sochi, then Baku, followed by attempted Vietnam GP and now in Saudi. it looks like further evolution of that idea, they just add exaggerate the idea each time and try to go further than ever before. To me it looks artificial, too clean, too much like a drawing, too “perfect”, but not in an exciting way. Hopefully it will be fun, but I’d prefer what we saw in Imola over “many overtakes” here any time. I guess it’s a matter of taste, but I expect random mistakes because of poor visibility and when there will be overtakes, they will be too easy and routinish. I appreciate old-school challenging tracks more, but they aren’t good for modern short attention span viewers.

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