F1 News
Unique inspection rounds in Miami: 'Several times a day on iguana hunt'
- GPblog.com
The designers of the circuit in Miami had an extra challenge when building the circuit. They had to take into account the iguanas that can fall out of trees in Florida.
Apex, the company that designed the brand new circuit for the Miami GP, had a hard enough time building a circuit that had to meet the standards of the FIA, F1 and Liberty Media, but all the iguanas that are on and around the event site bring an extra challenge. The designers have to make sure that they don't just end up on the track.
On the iguana hunt in Miami
Formel1.de quotes one of the designers Sam Worthy: "We certainly don't want a big iguana [from a tree] falling on an F1 driver. When it gets cold, sometimes they can suddenly fall out of the tree because they are cold-blooded. That probably shouldn't be a problem now in May." Still, precautions are being taken. Indeed, several times a day, small excursions are held along the track.
Worthy: "The marshals have to look at all the openings in the walls and crash barriers to make sure there are no iguanas in them or in the trees. And yes, that is very unique!" The excursions are indeed unique, but may not be for nothing. After all, the fact that a large lizard walked on the track happened earlier during the 2016 Australian Grand Prix.