Miami Grand Prix

The Miami Grand Prix is one of the newest showcase events on the Formula 1 calendar. The race sees F1 utilise a semi-permanent track around the Miami Dolphins’ Hard Rock Stadium.

Plans to host a Formula 1 race in the city of Miami date back as far as the 1980s. But it only became a reality in 2022 after F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali agreed to a 10-year contract with the vice-chairman of the NFL outfit Miami Dolphins plus Hard Rock Stadium, Tom Garfinkel.

F1 confirmed the agreement in principle to host the first Miami GP in October 2019. Yet the Miami Gardens Commissioners only approved the event in April 2021 after further delays in staging the race. F1 chiefs had first revived the idea of Miami having a city race in April 2017.

History of the F1 Miami GP

Chase Carey broached the idea of F1 having a ‘destination city’ race in Miami in 2017 whilst the CEO of Formula 1. The prospect then began to gain traction in May 2018 as Miami’s city commissioners approved the start of formal negotiations about South Florida having a race.

It was originally intended that the Miami GP would take place around PortMiami and Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross would act as the promoter. But F1 had to abandon ship come June 2018 as some local residents in the Bayfront Park threatened a cease and desist order.

Reports by Forbes at the time noted the Biscayne Neighbourhoods Association (BNA) – one of Miami’s most influential residents’ groups – questioned the potential benefits of holding a Formula 1 Grand Prix in downtown Miami, which would also occupy part of the Port of Miami.

F1 and Miami switched focus to race at Hard Rock Stadium

It took Formula 1 just a month from the threat of a cease and desist order to abandon plans for a race in PortMiami. The Miami Gardens Commissioners also created further hurdles for a potential Grand Prix at Hard Rock Stadium when it voted against the race in October 2019.

The vote was strictly symbolic to show the Commissioners’ opposition to the noise pollution created from an F1 Grand Prix. It would also carry zero weight one month later when Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez vetoed the resolution, seeing the race as a Super Bowl.

A federal judge would also, finally, clear the way for Formula 1 to race in Miami in July 2021. The Miami Herald noted that District Judge Robert N Scola Jr dismissed a civil rights lawsuit brought by a group of Miami Gardens residents. F1 had signed a 10-year contract that April.

F1 and the promoters designed 76 circuits for a race in Miami

Formula 1 and Hard Rock Stadium chiefs then set about working with Apex Circuit Design to finalise a Miami GP. Together, they designed 76 potential track layouts from the start of their project in 2017. Of those, they created 36 layouts just for a race around Hard Rock Stadium.

Eventually, F1 and all promoters decided the Miami International Autodrome would be a 19-turn circuit using the car park around Hard Rock Stadium. Its layout could let drivers achieve average speeds of around 223km/h (138mph) and hit speeds of around 320km/h (198mph).

But the actual layout of the Miami International Autodrome would not invoke great racing when Formula 1 eventually arrived. Despite the circuit boasting three long straights where passes are possible, the tight and twisty nature of the in-between areas restricts overtakes.

The first Miami GP was more about the show and which celebrities attended

After all of the hurdles Formula 1 and Hard Rock Stadium chiefs had to overcome to have the Miami GP, the first race was more about the show and which celebrities attended than how the Grand Prix unfolded. It also created headlines for having a fake marina with real yachts.

Hard Rock Stadium is located around 10 miles inland of the Atlantic Ocean. But given Miami is renowned for its beaches, the promoters designed a mock ‘beach club’ inside the track. A fake marina, including a vinyl floor made to resemble water, also sat inside Turns 6, 7 and 8.

What is the Miami International Autodrome like?

The Miami International Autodrome is far from a classic Formula 1 circuit where drivers are pushed to their limits. Instead, the 5.4km (3.3m) circuit has often yielded processional races due to its design. Drivers can struggle to follow closely enough to try moves on the straights.

The run from Turn 1 through to Turn 8 means drivers must use the long flat-out stretch into Turn 11 to close a gap. But the sequence of corners between Turn 11 and Turn 16 then puts distance back between them. Only the run to Turn 17 having DRS allows for possible moves.

Additionally, the Turn 14-15 chicane has been troublesome throughout the Miami GP’s time in F1. Drivers must flick their cars through Turn 13 at speed before slamming on their brakes to avoid crashing into a wall before the fiddly chicane underneath the Turnpike road bridges.

Winners of the F1 Miami GP