The point where the false port with its yachts is located is a left-hand curve that leads to turn 8, which is very tight and also to the left, and then a long straight that has a DRS zone.
Next, there is a hard braking zone at Turn 11, which is expected to be an overtaking point.
After the drivers tested the track in their teams’ simulators and walked it upon arrival in Florida, the consensus was that it won’t be easy to get Turn 7 right, especially as the entry is blind.
That, in turn, could help the car behind to close in and be able to engage DRS on the exit of Turn 8, then attempt an overtake at Turn 11.
“I think it’s fun, it’s a really unique and special track,” said Yuki Tsunoda. “There are a couple of tricky corners that I’ve never seen, for example Turn 7 is completely blind, so it will make a difference.
“Especially if you hit or miss the apex, I think there will be a big time difference. I think that corner will increase the chances of overtaking. I think that corner is going to be a key corner for this circuit.”
The AlphaTauri driver explained why it’s so tricky: “It’s going to be tough to drive consistently every time. I don’t think you can get it right every lap compared to other corners. I think if you have a good start there, or if you have a good confidence at turn 7, it will be good for overtaking.
“On the contrary, if you don’t get it right at Turn 7, or someone makes a mistake, I even think you’re a second away, you can easily overtake at Turn 11.
“But still, Turn 11 to 16 are very tight corners, you don’t lose a lot of downforce. So even if you don’t overtake at Turn 11 you can follow the cars, and you’ll still have a chance to overtake at the penultimate corner. So I think there will be a lot of battles.”
Pierre Gasly and Kevin Magnussen also pointed to Turn 7 as the key.
“In turns 4, 5, 6 and 7 there is a lot of speed,” said the Frenchman. “Turn 7 is an endless left-hander so you can’t see the exit, and then it’s extremely long.”
“I think I agree with that,” added the Haas driver. “There’s a really long straight after that corner and there’s some weird braking on it, so you’re going to try to find the right line there, which I don’t think is a direct one. It looks like an interesting track.”
Magnussen’s teammate Mick Schumacher also confirmed that it will not be easy to judge braking at that point on the Miami circuit accurately.
“It’s easy to go wrong,” said the German. “But it’s also a place where it’s going to be easy to block. So we’ll have to see how we drivers deal with the tyres. If you unload the tyre, basically you brake and unload the whole left side, as it’s a very long corner, which is narrow”.
“So obviously you have to slow down, but you still want to gain as much time as you can going into the corner.”
