Risk of wet starts to sprint race and grand prix in Miami

Formula 1 drivers may have to contend with wet starts to Saturday’s sprint race and Sunday’s grand prix over the Miami Grand Prix weekend.

The Miami International Autodrome has hosted two grands prix over the last two years but has not experienced wet session in that time.

The second consecutive sprint round on the 2024 calendar, Miami will again see a sprint race held in the early afternoon before Sunday’s grand prix. However, forecasts indicate a risk that the track could be wet before the start of both of those sessions.

Friday is expected to have the lowest risk of rain of the weekend, meaning drivers will have the benefit of a dry hour of practice in warm temperatures of just under 30C before that evening’s sprint qualifying session.

However, heading into Saturday, there is a significant risk of rain falling in the morning prior to the sprint race starting at midday. While forecasts do not expect rain during the sprint race or the following grand prix qualifying session, there is a chance that the track could still be drying from earlier rain when the lights go out. However, with temperatures again expected to be in the high 20s, any moisture should dry out relatively quickly.

The same is also the case for the grand prix on Sunday. The relatively late start time of 4pm (half an hour later than last year) could well mean that the track is dry once again after earlier expected rain passes in the early afternoon. But should the rain come later than current forecast expect, the risk that the grand prix could be affected will increase.

Should the race remain dry, then conditions are likely to be virtually identical to those drivers experienced over the first two Miami races in 2022 and 2023. Last year’s race all 20 drivers running a one-stop strategy in the dry conditions, without a single retirement in the field.

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