Miami set for Formula 1’s newest race
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — “Slow down baby!” Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross pleaded with his CEO Tom Garfinkel.
“He was a little nervous,” Garfinkel said with a laugh.
The duo had just whipped around their very own Formula One race track, Grafinkel behind the wheel and Ross beside him.
“I threw him around the car a little bit, but not too much,” Garfinkel said. “It was a lot of fun.”
But there’s no slowing down Miami, F1 or the future plans for the new Miami International Autodrome. Garfinkel, 53, and Ross, who turns 82 Tuesday after the ra, reached roughly 130 mph on the track’s longest straightaway during Ross’ first tour of his privately-funded race. That’s a timid speed considering F1 cars could reach up to 200 mph during the inaugural grand prix, which begins Friday and culminates Sunday with the 8 p.m. ET race. ESPN will broadcast the event nationally.
The F1 race is the latest major event at the Dolphins’ NFL stadium in the city of Miami Gardens, which has been transformed into a sports and entertainment mega hub — hosting Super Bowls, college football playoff games, international soccer, tennis and concerts.
Garfinkel gushed about his venue earlier this week, listing all the big names who have taken center stage, from Jay-z and Beyoncé to Serena Williams, Neymar and six-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton.
The Miami Grand Prix was the second American city added to the prestigious 2022 World Championship calendar. The first was Austin, Texas, which hosts its race in October. A circuit in Las Vegas will join next year.
Race organizers and some city officials predict hosting F1 for the weekend will deliver a similar economic impact as the city’s last Super Bowl in 2020, which brought more than $400 million to South Florida.
“It’s a big, brave thing to do to start something so big that it makes the Super Bowl look tiny,” said Clive Bowen, owner of Apex Circuit Design and lead designer of the Miami Grand Prix. “Super Bowl is America’s biggest sporting event, and it’s contained within a stadium.
“Every single square inch of this property here has an activation on it. And wherever you look, there’s something to entertain.”
The race for F1
F1 is on the rise in the United States, and Ross has wanted a piece of it for years. He tried to acquire the entire organization, placing a bid with Qatar Sports Investment group in 2016 before F1 was sold to Liberty Media that year.
Now, he has a 10-year deal for the Miami Grand Prix and a vision for it to become one of F1’s most popular races.
After residents in downtown Miami opposed a street race during initial talks in 2017, Ross and Garfinkel came up with another plan. Garfinkel used to be the executive vice president of Chip Ganassi Racing’s NASCAR, Indycar and Grand-am racing teams. He said he’s been to more than 300 races in his life.
That context helped the former art major, who loves to draw, scribble his ideas on a whiteboard during preliminary planning and create a unique race
experience.
The Miami GP is championed as the first of its kind because of its collaboration. Formula One, its drivers and teams, F1’s governing body FIA, Apex Circuit Design, City of Miami and Miami-dade County officials, the Florida Department of Transportation, and the Dolphins all played parts in the design and execution.
“I got to take my hat off to Tom Garfinkel. He’s the tip of the spear,” said Rodney Barreto, who works closely with them all as chairman of the Miami Super Bowl committee. “He’s executing the vision with an owner like Steve Ross, who basically has an open checkbook to get things done.”
Building for speed
Race officials intended to create a street circuit equally challenging for drivers as it is entertaining for viewers. The fan experience at the stadium was at the forefront of Garfinkel’s vision.
Miami Grand Prix CEO Richard Cregan said “without that level of vision, it would not have happened.”
The campus offers a variety of grandstand areas, paddock clubs and suites, restaurant and bar options and fan zones.
Turns 1-4 on the track are adjacent to Hard Rock Stadium, with a traditional start/finish straight and pit areas before the first turn — the first of three potential overtaking zones. Cars will try to maintain high speeds, while concealing their power around Turns 4-8, which approach the Dolphins’ practice facility to the right and circle the whimsical MIA Marina and Yacht Club.
“The cars are going to be on the limits of their performance envelope,” Bowen said. “They’re going to be changing directions faster than your body believes is possible. Your eyes will be tricked.”
The marina, which attempts to bring a waterfront view to a football stadium, will allow fans to watch the race on several yachts in a makeshift bay. Instead of water, the boats sit on trailers surrounded by a water-colored wrap covering plywood to deliver the illusion.
It might not provide the waterfront views of Biscayne Bay, which race organizers would have loved in downtown, but it’s still unapologetically Miami.
“We’re not taking ourselves too seriously with a real marina,” Garfinkel said of the most talked about section of his racetrack prior to the event. “But I think it’ll be a lot of fun for people out there.”
Racers will then enter another straight following Turns 9-10, where they could appear side by side and with ample overtaking opportunity before Turn 11.
This section of the race runs under and alongside a 12-car gondola system swaying above stadium grounds, and through the area reserved for the Miami Open tennis tournament every March.
Cars will tightly pass Turns 11-13 around the Hard Rock Beach Club, which features two swimming pools and cabanas. Music stars Post Malone, the Chainsmokers, Zedd and Tiesto will perform on stage there during the weekend.
“People out here just having a good time with cars going by is uniquely Miami,” Garfinkel said.
Turns 14-16 run under the Florida Turnpike and are considered the most technically challenging section of the circuit. Cars must carefully thread the needle under the turnpike overpass with a slight elevation change.