Hamilton butts heads with Liberty plans

Hamilton: Miami should be designed by F1 drivers

Originally written by Joas van Wingerden. This version is a translation.

Thursday 10 May 2018 18:01

Lewis Hamilton has called on Liberty Media to canvass Formula 1 drivers for ideas to redesign a Miami street circuit which has been poorly received. A proposal for the track shared on social media has been criticised for its long straights, which do not appear conducive for entertaining races.

An image shared on social media by district commissioner Ken Russell shows a route through downtown Miami and over the Port Boulevard bridge to Dodge Island - the location of the two long straights.

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The track will also circle the American Airlines Arena, home of NBA's Miami Heat, and the Freedom Tower.

Hamilton expressed his immediate displeasure with the design on Instagram and solidified his call on Liberty to allow the drivers an element of creative freedom over the future destinations of F1.

"I don't get why, for example, in golf you get all the great golfers who design golf courses, and then you've not got any of the top racing drivers ever in history who ever designed a race track," said Hamilton.

"Not that we're designers or anything, but [we've not been asked for] our input or anything like that.

"Miami is a super cool place, and I was very, very excited to hear about it, and then I saw the layout.

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"I think it could be a lot more fun. You've got two of the longest straights, but maybe when we drive it, it will be more fun.

"I dread the thought of a street circuit like we had with Valencia, which wasn't really a great street circuit. It can be very hit and miss, but maybe it's a hit.

"I don't want to make an assumption before we've even driven it, but if there's time, and anyone wants to approach me or any of the drivers, I'm sure we could give some good insight into what the layout's like, and how it could be better.

"I know Miami quite well. There's a few better locations to put the track, for example."