From war to bad weather
Formula 1, stopped for five weeks due to the cancellation of races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia because of the war that broke out in the Persian Gulf, now in Miami faces the potential threat of the weather, with possible very heavy showers forecast for Sunday that could even lead – as an extreme case – to the change of the Grand Prix start time.
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The lightning danger and the particular American protocol
But rain will not be the only opponent of the Circus this weekend: in the United States a big problem for any outdoor event is represented by lightning. For safety reasons, in fact, if lightning strikes within a certain radius of km around the venue of an event, it must be immediately suspended for at least half an hour, after which the situation is reassessed. This is a little-known protocol in Europe and in fact F1 is forced to apply it only for the three races held on American soil. Those who are passionate about American motorsport, on the other hand, know these rules very well because it is not uncommon for IndyCar and especially NASCAR races to be postponed, sometimes even by a day, due to weather-related situations and ‘stops’ of at least half an hour due to lightning strikes in the area – sometimes even without rainfall – are not so infrequent.
In the specific case of the Miami GP the protocol provides that any lightning strike within a radius of 13 km from the Miami International Autodrome results in the immediate suspension of the event. If this happened during the race, it would be immediately suspended for at least half an hour, after which, as mentioned, the situation would be reassessed. If other lightning strikes occurred during the half-hour stop, the count would restart from zero until 30 consecutive minutes have passed without lightning.
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During the stop period all cars must return to the pit lane and teams are allowed to push them inside the garages, according to a specific rule for races in the United States, unlike what happens in other regions where cars must instead remain stationary in the fastlane of the pit lane. Obviously then – but this is the only point that does not change compared to races held in other countries – the session cannot take place if the medical helicopter is unable to take off due to weather conditions.
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