The highly anticipated 2025 Miami Grand Prix is still a few weeks away, but racing fans will be able to get their fix on April 12 when the city hosts an “E-Prix” as part of the Formula E circuit. Maserati, which has been involved in motorsport for a century, is responsible for one of the 11 current Formula E teams and The Manual recently attended a roundtable the company held to discuss the upcoming race and their plans for the season.
As with every other driver on the circuit, Maserati’s Jake Hughes and Stoffel Vandoorne have not driven this year’s track before. Unlike the Grand Prix, which is held at Miami International Autodrome, the electric-vehicle-based event is taking place at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
During the round table, both drivers provided some insight on how they intend to prepare for the race, with Stoffel Vandoorne mentioning how vital simulators are in modern race prep. He said:
“We’ll discover the track and the simulator in the next couple of days. But I think it will be a little bit of an unknown for everyone. First of all, it’s a new track; that’s new opportunities for everyone and that’s a challenge that I personally enjoy… how you react to to all of that.”
Vandoorne also mentioned how the hot and humid climate in southern Florida will likely have a part to play, adding, “I feel the biggest unknown for us will be the climate. It tends to be quite hot in Miami and the current races that we’ve had to start the season have been reasonably cold. Not super hot compared to what Miami will be. So we’ll see how that is gonna impact, especially from a tire perspective. I think the tires are new this year, and there are still a lot of unknowns in that area.”
Prep in the simulator “will be crucial”
The Belgian’s teammate, Jake Hughes, also gave his opinion on the track itself. The race is being held at the Homestead-Miami Speedway this year, a venue usually used for NASCAR races. Maserati’s British driver suggested asking around, alongside the drivers’ own experiences, which might give the pair some insight into the track. Especially when it comes to the condition of the surface. Hughes said:
“Various people within the industry might have been there, visited there, and driven there. But I think one thing [is that] we’re not rookies. A lot of the tracks we go to are quite low-grip, to be honest. We go to all types of tracks. So I don’t think the grip level will be something super shocking.
“Looking at the track layout, I think it will be quite energy sensitive, as we call it,” he continued. “So yes, trying to manage that with your team and doing the best possible prep this week in the simulator will be crucial for us. Obviously, it’s a single header as well, so we won’t have the opportunity to learn from the first day to the second day and capitalize that way. So we’ll really have to focus on the preparation before the event.”
Hughes goes into the Miami E-Prix fifth in the drivers’ standings, having achieved a podium finish during Round 4 in Saudi Arabia. Maserati also sits fifth in the team rankings at the time of writing, with manufacturer Stellantis currently second in the constructor’s rankings. The Miami Grand Prix is set to take place on April 12. Viewers in the U.S. can watch the action on both CBS and Roku.
