The Miami International Autodrome is a street circuit designed specifically to host the Formula 1 event. It’s constructed in the parking lot of the Hard Rock Stadium, but you would never know. This article looks in detail at the Miami Grand Prix layout, its turns, the length of the circuit and more.
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Miami Grand Prix layout
The official name for the Miami Grand Prix circuit is the Miami International Autodrome. It’s a temporary street circuit that’s constructed and disassembled every year specifically to host the Formula 1 event and its support races.
Below is the Miami Grand Prix layout map.
There are three timed sectors on the Miami Grand Prix circuit. The end of sector 1 is 110 metres after Turn 8, the end of sector 2 is 70 metres after Turn 16 and sector 3 ends at the start / finish line.
The highest speeds reached on the Miami GP circuit are just over 200mph / 320kph. These are likely to be achieved on the long back ‘straight’ just before the cars hit the brakes for the tight Turn 11 in front of thousands of fans in the Miami GP Beach grandstands.
So far the only races that have been held on the Miami Grand Prix layout are:
- Formula 1
- W Series
- Porsche Sprint Challenge North America
Is the Miami F1 a street circuit?
The Miami F1 track is a street circuit as it’s a temporary track that’s erected and disassembled every year specifically to host the F1 event. It uses public roads and parking lots to form the circuit.
It’s set in the parking lot of the Hard Rock stadium and actually crosses part of the Florida Turnpike between turns 10 and 11, plus it goes directly under other parts of the freeway. See the final section on this page for more info.
How long is the Miami F1 track?
The Miami F1 track is 3.363 miles / 5.412 km long. The 2023 Miami Grand Prix fastest lap across the whole weekend was 1:26.814 set by Max Verstappen in the second part of qualifying.
As a comparison the fastest lap around the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit in an F1 car is 1:24.30 and around COTA it’s 1:32.03. The time it takes for the drivers to complete one lap of the Miami Grand Prix layout is pretty average for an F1 circuit.
Each year the Grand Prix lasts for 57 laps and the race usually takes around 90 minutes.
How many corners on the Miami F1 track?
There are 19 corners on the Miami F1 track. These range from incredibly tight hairpins such as Turn 17 where the cars reach a minimum speed of 40mph / 65kph, to flat-out kinks like Turn 10 where they are exceeding 195mph / 315kph.
DRS zones on the Miami Grand Prix layout
There are 3 DRS activation points on the Miami circuit. These can be seen on the circuit map above. See our article on the Miami GP DRS zones for more detailed info.
Miami Grand Prix layout pit lane
The pit lane at the Miami GP circuit is 1,232 feet / 375 metres long. The pit lane entry is between turns 18 and 19. The pits run to the right-hand side of the main straight and re-join the track between turns 1 and 2.
The speed limit in the Miami Grand Prix pit lane is 80 kmh. On average it takes an F1 driver around 20-22 seconds to transit the pit lane, including their pit stop.
Who designed the Miami F1 track?
The Miami F1 track was designed by Apex Circuit Design. They were initially consulted about the feasibility of constructing an F1 circuit in Miami back in 2015 when the original concept was for a track in the downtown and port areas.
After that idea received too much push back from local authorities, and after many more design concepts and iterations, a race circuit design surrounding the Hard Rock Stadium was finally agreed upon.
After 9 months of construction the first F1 event was held on the Miami GP circuit in 2022, 7 years after the idea was first proposed.
Apex Circuit Design have been involved in upgrading F1 tracks in the past. In the early 2010s they redesigned turns 10 to 15 on the Singapore F1 street circuit to improve their driveability and speed. These changes were implemented in the construction of the circuit for the 2014 race, and have been used ever since.
The Miami Grand Prix circuit, however, was the first time Apex had fully overseen the design and construction of a full F1 circuit.
Hard Rock Stadium
The Miami Grand Prix layout has been constructed surrounding the Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins NFL team. It’s also where the Miami Open tennis tournament is held. The circuit is built in the parking lots around the stadium, and the stadium itself is the central focal point of the whole design.
The image below shows how the area surrounding the stadium looked in 2021 before any construction work began, and then how it looked during the race weekend in 2022.
Not only does the Miami F1 circuit weave its way around a football stadium, but it also incorporates part of the Florida Turnpike within its perimeter.
These sections of the turnpike have to be closed off to traffic during the race weekend. On the long back straight between turns 10 and 11 the circuit crosses the turnpike itself, which you can find on Google Maps.
On the run between turns 16 and 17 the track actually uses part of NW 203rd St, making the Miami GP track a true street circuit. Additionally turns 15 and 16 go underneath parts of the Turnpike.
In 2023 there will be the F1 Team Hospitality Village was moved to field of the Hard Rock Stadium itself.
The stadium is used for the Miami Open tennis tournament just a month earlier, so it will have to be quickly transformed to make way for the Team Village.
What a transformation! 😍#MiamiGP #F1 @f1miami pic.twitter.com/lcTQO6JEJB
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 6, 2023
Great information. Came in handy.