Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
F1 champ Hamilton rips proposed course
Miami seems to be gungho about staging annual races of the world’s premier motorsports circuit on downtown streets.
Thursday, the Miami City Commission gave unanimous approval to entering negotiations with Formula One on a 10-year contract to stage a race near Biscayne Bay beginning in 2019.
Formula One’s reigning champion loves the idea but has already given thumbs down to the proposed route of the race. Lewis Hamilton offered his services in helping design a race course better suited to the competitors and showcasing the event to spectators.
“Miami is a super-cool place and I was very excited to hear about it, but when I saw the layout I was like, ‘Meh.’ It could be a lot more fun,” Hamilton, a four-time world champion, said in Barcelona, where he is preparing for this week’s Spanish Grand Prix.
Miami has been a hot topic for the past week since F1 revealed its interest in making South Florida the second U.S. stop on the circuit, joining Austin, Texas.
But when Miami City Commissioner Ken Russell tweeted a graphic of a 2.57-mile circuit, Hamilton offered immediate pushback on social media, writing: “OK, so I’ve just seen the design of the Miami track. Nah bruh, it’s not the one. Let me design it.”
The course features a loop around AmericanAirlines Arena, a segment on Biscayne Boulevard with some tight turns near Bayside Marketplace and long runs across Port Boulevard Bridge to the Port of Miami and back to the mainland.
“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,” Hamilton told reporters in Spain. “I know Miami quite well. There’s a few better locations to put the track, for example.”
The 33-year-old British driver has been a vocal advocate of adding Miami to the top international racing circuit.
It was also where he headed to celebrate immediately after winning his latest F1 title last October, flying from Mexico City to party late into the night at Liv Miami. He has attended NASCAR Championship Weekend at HomesteadMiami Speedway in recent years, including visiting with Jeff Gordon just before the NASCAR legend drove his final race.
F1 has been eager to expand its operations in the U.S., with consideration for races in Las Vegas and New York as well as Miami.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, in his first year in office, has been pushing for it.
“Happy that our commission approved legislation allowing the administration to negotiate with @F1,” Suarez tweeted after Thursday’s vote. “This is an important step in bringing to #Miami one of the most popular sports in the world, with 1.8 billion TV viewers annually and billions of dollars in economic benefits.”
Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz said at the meeting, “I believe this can be an incredible financial gain for the city and south of Florida. Way beyond the levels of what we’ve seen before — like basically having the Super Bowl every year.”
The Texas race brought an estimated $2.8 billion in benefits from 2012-2015 and generated more than 200,000 visitors over race weekends, according to data provided to the Miami Commission by F1.
The aim is to have a contract ready for consideration by July 1 for the first race in October 2019.
Hamilton noted that a bad course can doom a race, and pointed to the example of the one that didn’t work well in Valencia, Spain, from 2008-12.
“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,” Hamilton said.
The lack of input by drivers on the courses they drive is apparently a sore spot, at least with Hamilton.
“I don’t get why, for example, in golf, all the great golfers design golf courses,” he told reporters. “You have not got any of the top racing drivers in history having ever designed a racetrack, and I don’t get it. Not that any of us are designers, but they haven’t asked for our input.”
PONTE VEDRA BEACH — The crowds, at times, were awesome. The golf was not.
The Tiger Woods-Phil Mickelson pairing at Thursday’s Players Championship drew fans stacked 10-12 deep and lining the fairways at TPC Sawgrass to catch a glimpse of the two legends going toe to toe.
But Woods and Mickelson failed to deliver fireworks and the much-anticipated duel soon fizzled. By the back nine, many fans had decided to drown their sorrows rather than watch Woods struggle to make birdies en route to an evenpar 72 and Mickelson completely collapse on his way to a 79.
“They were into it early,” Woods said. “There towards the back nine, it started getting a little sparse. I think they might have tipped back a couple and got a little sleepy.
“I think tomorrow will be a little bit different.”
Woods and Mickelson hope the quality of golf changes, too.
If not, Woods will be near the bottom of the leaderboard, while Mickelson will not be around for the weekend.
Woods did end a tough day with something to build on. His ultra-dependable stinger shot found the water on the challenging par-4 18th hole and left him 271 yards from the hole. Woods soon faced a 10-foot putt for bogey.
The two-time winner at TPC drained it.
“I just didn’t want to drop a shot, didn’t want to shoot an over-par round,” Woods said. “I was playing better than that. So it was nice to make that putt.”
World No. 1 Dustin Johnson carded a bogey-free 6-under 66 while hitting 17 of 18 greens to headline a pack of six golfers atop the leaderboard. Six players, including 51-year-old Steve Stricker, are a shot back.
Woods knew the Stadium Course was there for the taking.
“A lot of guys were under par, a bunch of guys in the 60s today,” Woods said. “It was playing a little bit on the softer side, and with this heat … the ball’s flying forever.”
Woods was two-over par when he reached the par-5 ninth hole. But a 349-yard drive, followed by a 245-yard approach to inside 20 feet set up an eagle 3 for Woods.
“Boy, it was nice to turn the round completely around there at nine,” he said.
The putt followed a fourhole stretch earlier featuring par misses from five and 10 feet and a birdie miss of 10 feet. A week after he needed 126 putts to finished tied for 55th at the Wells Fargo Championship, Woods did find his putter on the back nine, saving par three of four times from eight feet or longer, including on the final hole.
While Woods was hanging in there, Mickelson went off a cliff.
The 2007 winner at TPC moved to even par following birdies on holes Nos. 11 and 12. But after a par 3 at No. 13 Mickelson played one of the worst stretches of golf during his Hall of Fame career.
Mickelson was sevenover par and made three double bogeys from the 14th to 17th holes.
“I said it Sunday at Wells Fargo, I was worried about energy this week,” Mickelson said. “And I just kind of ran out at the end. I had a lot of fun, enjoyed being with the guys. I just had a poor finish.”