F1 warned against Miami expectation after major rule changes

Former F1 driver David Coulthard has suggested the upcoming Miami Grand Prix will not deliver a clear answer to the impact of the recently announced changes to the cars.

Following complaints from the drivers across the opening three rounds of the campaign, a series of meetings were held during the April break.

Earlier this week, the FIA confirmed a batch of modifications to the cars, most of which will be in effect from the upcoming Miami Grand Prix.

But with Miami being a street circuit and the host of a sprint weekend, Coulthard does not believe it will provide all the definitive answers.

“What’s going to be interesting to see is, I think in Miami, we won't necessarily see the results of these changes because of the nature of the racetrack,” Coulthard told the Up to Speed podcast.

“There are a lot of slow and medium-speed corners. There isn't really anything big and meaty, an iconic section of corners where you go ‘wow, I really saw the driver or the car do something special’.

“We have to give it a few races, but I do think it will make a difference, there’s no question about it.”

One of the changes includes a reduction in power output when the drivers press the 'boost' button to overtake, a response to the significant crash Oliver Bearman suffered in Japan.

Coulthard has predicted that it will decrease the number of in-race overtakes.

“It may reduce some of the on-track overtakes that some people have got excited about, but a reduction in power when someone else has got the boost available because they were in the right place on the track at the point that they picked up that trigger that enabled them to have the boost, is that really an overtake?” Coulthard said.

“It’s a power surge, an increase in power. We may see less of those on-track overtakes, but they'll be more meaningful.

“It’ll be more about the driver, positioning the car, trying to pick up that slipstream. You're still going to have an element of boost, but that's effectively what DRS was in the previous years as well. So I'm optimistic.”