How the Miami GP prepared for the dangers of Florida

Due to its location at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, the newest Formula 1 racetrack – designed and controlled by a British firm Apex circuit design – had to fit into his environment.

As for the active use of the stadium, the Miami Open tennis tournament required that turn 3 to turn 5 be astroturped to prevent any possible damage from spectators, and plastic guardrails were placed to deliver hospitality trucks as different courts were located areas around the track.

While the Miami Open ended on April 3, allowing the Apex crew to regain full access to the entire F1 track, another impact that won’t go away is related to the natural world: the site’s owner, real estate mogul and NFL boss Miami Dolphins Stephen Ross is very pays close attention to how his stadium fits and looks in his neighborhood.

“The owner, Mr. Ross, loves greenery, and he loves his landscaping,” said Apex project director Sam Worthy. “The stadium itself is making a very focused effort to have as much greenery as possible, especially when it comes to old trees.

“So, all the trees that naturally hang over our path, we tried to keep as many branches in place and keep the leaves over them. It certainly looks very beautiful; not many tracks have something like this, and we discussed this with the FIA, who have been here on three separate walks. They are also happy to see it.

Track review in Miami

Photo: Charles Bradley

“One of the problems was to physically adjust the debris fence around them and at the same time carry out procedures to ensure that there are no loose branches that could fall.”

Many of these trees in question are located at a distance of 199 miles per hour between turns 16 and 17.

Parallel to the 1.2 km straight line is a waterway called Snake Creek, which stretches to Lake Mole in North Miami Beach – and wherever you see water in the area, you’ll probably find wild green iguanas that can grow up to six feet long and weigh more than 20 pounds.

Green iguana

Photo: Helen Bradley

Worthy added: “We certainly don’t want a giant iguana to fall on one of the Formula 1 drivers because that would be a problem! When it gets cold here, they can just fall out of the trees because they are cold bloody and closed. In May, this is not a problem, but they can still climb trees, jump out or crawl along the path.

“We have procedures to get marshals to come and poke holes [in the concrete walls] so that no one hides there or in the trees. This is a pretty unique thing to deal with!

“There are also waterfowl and ducks, and a few snakes. But iguanas are the biggest problem for us. Thus, marshals will be given nets for iguanas, and attention will be focused on catching and then releasing them somewhere away from the track.

While iguanas are an invasive species for Florida, local natural phenomena include thunderstorms, which tend to occur more frequently in the summer months. Large thunderstorms can lead to flooding, so Apex is working with the best in its business to deal with this threat – given that the route is just a few miles deep into the sea and has extremely high groundwater levels.

Track review in Miami

Photo: Charles Bradley

“You won’t see our slots on any other track yet,” Worthy said. – We worked with [drain specialists] ACO to develop them for this track in Miami. Because we are so close to groundwater, we need everything as small as possible to enable us to move water efficiently further and further.

“Traditional slotted drains are too deep, so they move water into drainage pipes with much higher than usual, and so we can run longer distances by gravity.

“There is a very efficient drainage system on the whole site [including vast storage tanks underneath the stadium]. The ACO solutions we developed together work well with curbs, and they also look beautiful. ”

Weather forecasters predict a 40 percent chance of rain on Sunday, with the chance of rainfall increasing since the start of the race at 3:30 p.m.