Miami Grand Prix boss Tom Garfinkel says he is willing to make any changes required to improve the Miami International Autodrome for the 2023 race. Some sections of the temporary race track in Miami Gardens have already come under criticism from a number of drivers, including Lewis Hamilton. Garfinkel, who mixes his role as Managing Partner of the Miami Grand Prix with others at the Miami Dolphins NFL team and the Hard Rock Stadium, did not design the circuit but did set out a vision of what he hoped it would deliver for F1. However, both the asphalt used and a number of tight corners on the circuit have been subject to complaints from those on track.
Garfinkel: We're open to changing whatever we need to
Following qualifying, Hamilton compared one section of the track to a B&Q car park due to its tight, narrow corners. Garfinkel has since admitted that the section criticised by Hamilton, that runs under the exit ramp of a Miami freeway, was necessary to slow cars down and wasn't designed to offer entertainment. The same section also saw two heavy crashes during practice, with Esteban Ocon and Carlos Sainz both feeling the brunt of a concrete wall. But Garfinkel is willing to change it, he admitted, speaking to select members of the media that included RacingNews365.com . "We're open to changing whatever we need to to make the track better," Garfinkel made clear. "I think the challenge with the chicane... I don't know if we communicated well enough why it exists and where it exists. It was a bit of a necessary evil, if you will, to get the track big enough to create the rest of the race track to be great. "That's an area where we have to really slow people down, because we didn't have enough run-off space. "I think, from talking to some folks at F1 and the FIA, there's an opportunity to maybe change that a little bit to make it better."
Asphalt already being evaluated ahead of 2023
The drivers also complained of poor grip at the track, especially when moving off-line to overtake rivals. Garfinkel says the problem is already been investigated in preparation for 2023. "The surface itself, we're evaluating. We want to make sure we get that right because, obviously, if they can't get outside the racing line, then there's not going to be as much overtaking, and that's not good," he said. "I'm not the track designer, but the direction that I wanted was to have as much overtaking as possible. When someone gets passed, they get passed back. You know? "We're going to take a really hard look at that and we'll make whatever changes we need to, if we need to, to make the track as good as we can."
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