Mercedes says F1 Miami GP 'probably up there' with Malaysia as 'difficult races' to drive

Mercedes technical director Mike Elliott recently claimed that the newly added F1 Miami Grand Prix was a physically strenuous race for drivers and team members alike. He went on to say that the inaugural race is now “up there” with the likes of Malaysia and Singapore in terms of being some of the toughest races on the F1 calendar with regards to physical conditions.

In Mercedes’ post-race debrief video, Elliott commented on the exhaustion experienced by the drivers at the inaugural Miami GP last weekend, saying:

“I believe George [Russell] made a comment in the press that he had found that pretty hard. Obviously he was battling through the field in a race that was both hot and humid and those two conditions of hot and humid mean you sweat a lot in the car and the drivers actually lose a considerable amount of weight during the race just in that sort of sweat that’s lost to the atmosphere. I am sure they have done more difficult races in the past. Malaysia in the past has been a really difficult race for both heat and humidity, but Miami was probably up there with those sort of races from the past.”

Mercedes managed to gain significant momentum from last weekend's race with strong P5 and P6 results, strengthening their third-place position in the constructors' standings.

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"Very good start going into this new era" - McLaren boss happy with the new F1 race director set-up

McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl claims he is happy with the FIA’s new race director set-up. Earlier this year, Michael Masi was replaced from the role by Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas after his controversial decision at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

As reported by Motorsport, the German described their relationship and conversations with the teams as “transparent and constructive”, saying:

“I don’t want to compare to the past, because from our point of view, we have been very happy with the exchange or working relationship that we had also with the previous set-ups the FIA had. But from my point of view, the new set-up with Niels [Wittich] and also with Eduardo [Freitas] had a very good start going into this new era of Formula 1.”

Seidl then went on to speak about his experience so far with Wittich, who has officiated the races so far, saying:

“Niels [Wittich] is quite straightforward in terms of making sure the rules get enforced. He’s also quite straightforward in terms of getting across what he’s expecting, and that’s what I personally like. At the same time, he’s always available for a dialogue and for constructive input as well if you think things need to be reconsidered. From this point of view, when I look now how these first races went, I think we are in a good place.”

While he praised the two new F1 race directors, he refrained from making any direct comparisons to the predecessor Masi.