Q&A: Our F1 Author Talks Miami GP and More
Our latest video gets up close and personal with GT-R owners. We also dive into the best (and worst) aspects of the Miami Grand Prix.
Happy Race Day! especially to all the amazing moms out there. I hope you have the refreshing, relaxing Mother’s Day you deserve. Honor a badass mom in your life by reading about Maude Yagle, the woman who won the 1929 Indy 500. And then leave the kids at home and go drive the wheels off your car.
I’m going to switch things up a bit and jump into an interview. On the heels of the Miami Grand Prix over the weekend — which had a lot of hype but not a lot of substance — I asked Hazel Southwell to provide some perspective. Southwell is a veteran journalist of Formula One and many other motorsports, and is currently working on a book for us at Carrara Media about the road to fortune and fame in modern F1. (More on Southwell and other authors here.) Please enjoy.
Q&A: F1 Author and Journalist Hazel Southwell
What’s the biggest strength and biggest weakness of the Miami GP?
Miami has real potential to be an on-edge street circuit; however, its large runoff areas and generally flat layout give it a sense of openness as a circuit that lessens the sense of jeopardy. Not in the sense of wanting to see cars in walls but in terms of seeing how incredibly on the edge they are; the surface this year improved radically but with the ironic side-effect of making cars (on the racing line) look so planted it lost an element of spectacle.
Does the Miami GP focus too much on glamour and not enough on racing?
I've never attended Miami so I can't say this with authority but watching from home, one thing that comes across is a lack of glamour. A paddock on astroturf, empty stadium seats, echoing hallways with impromptu decor, temporary grandstands and fake water painted on plyboard. There's an emphasis from people there that it is very glamorous but it doesn't translate to the vast majority of viewers.
Which races are enhanced by attending in person rather than watching on TV?
Monaco is an easy one to point to, in F1; whereas Silverstone is great to watch on telly but quite a dismal experience to attend. I've probably offended some British fans there but it's true, it's a crowded experience of queuing and either freezing cold or warm enough to not enjoy standing for 20 minutes to get into a portaloo or pay £7 for lukewarm fries. The experience will always be different but some, like Le Mans, provided a good one whether at home or on site and others have a more jarring disparity. I will say generally Formula E is a significantly better experience at the track, not compared to other motorsport series but in terms of the impression that you get of the racing and even the sound of the cars.
Given the current political situation, does Florida deserve equal scrutiny with other oppressive regimes like Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, etc?
I think certainly Florida, Texas, the UK, Hungary, etc need to be treated with the same interrogative approach as the Middle East or Asia. It's justifiable to race there but if the justification in Jeddah is that it is changemaking, then it should also be the case in Miami and Milton Keynes. Sport does have a role in being able to endorse values and it is clear that there is an expectation for F1, as an international spectacle, to do so; new, young, diverse fans come at a price of needing to represent something they want to be a part of and if F1 wants to avoid its dying star from 2017 then it's got to do better.
A big thank you to Southwell for joining us this week! You can watch highlights of the 2023 Miami Grand Prix right here.
Culture
I’ve been deep into #WritingMode on my next book about the history and legacy of the Nissan Skyline GT-R, coming to Carrara Books later this year. Buuuuuuuut I did have a pretty incredible experience recently. Check it out:
Do us a favor at RD and watch the video, share with a GT-R nut in your life, and leave a comment about your favorite part. This is the type of magic I’m working to bring to the book. Every view, Like and Subscribe goes a long way toward making it possible.
Elsewhere, I’ve just been listening to a load of podcasts lately. What’s your favorite car podcast out right now? (Leave a comment below.) Here are some I really enjoyed, and think you will too:
Past Gas by Donut Media: The Last Time an American Won F1: Informative and fun tale of American icon Phil Hill from the always hilarious Donut crew.
Overcrest: Motorsport, The Mob, And Vegas: Did you know Las Vegas hosted two F1 races? Turns out the mafia was heavily involved. Amazing story.
To wrap up this section, it sure looks like someone spotted white supremacist tattoos adorning a recent guest of the Roadkill video series. It goes without saying this is unacceptable. Motor Trend has reportedly pulled the episode.
Video Reel
There’s no better car show in history than Best Motoring (it’s right there in the name!) and its YouTube channel recently posted one of the most famous episodes of all time. Stop what you’re doing and watch this classic ‘90s madness.
Auction Block
That R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R, star of The Fast And The Furious and once owned by Paul Walker, that we have been covering the past few weeks? It sold at Bonhams for a whopping $1.357 million at private auction. This is a massive sum for a Skyline. Probably not the most ever, but still massive. I’m working to learn more about where the car is ultimately headed. Is it legal to bring into the US? We still don’t know!
And Finally…
Here at Race Day it’s safe to say we’re big fans of maniacs. I can think of no bigger maniac than someone who stuffs a Ferrari engine into a Subaru and takes it rallying. Hats off, and a perfect way to wrap up the ‘letter this week. Here’s to maniacs.
Drive hard and be safe. Black Lives Matter.
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