Love it or hate it, the Miami F1 event this weekend has caused shockwaves in the land of the free. IndyCar drivers have been asked to compare this circus to their own more modest race week events. DJ’s and celebs are in abundance and the 80,000 privileged few each day saw dramatic action on track.
But the cost of setting up this ‘temporary’ venue is eye watering and reflected in the ticket prices.
General admission on Friday started at $300 and is over $500 on race day. The cheapest grandstand tickets at $640 are second only in price this season to Monaco.
Yet both Lando Norris and Sergio Perez have been critical of the surface grip away from the racing line.
Following a solid FP2 which saw Sergio Perez finish P3, the Mexican observed “I am really disappointed there is no grip off-line. It’s a shame because I think the racing will be bad due to that. As soon as you try to go off-line, there is no grip.”
McLaren’s Lando Norris concluded, “you go off line and it’s terrible so I feel like it’s not going to be great for racing now.”
Whatever the hype and whichever celebs attend, Miami will be judged on whether the racing is any good.
F1 has raced at 11 different venues over 70 years of travelling to the USA, many of them remembered for classic moments. Yet the established circuits in the USA used by their national motorsports divisions are not up to FIA certification standards for F1.
This aside, the wise old hand on the grid observed today, “but the money spent to build this could have easily brought the standard up in great places like Road America,” commented Sebastian Vettel.
F1 in Miami may be great for the privileged few allowed in to watch the event this weekend in South Florida’s sin city, but the commercial rights owners may have missed a trick by not returning a previous classic circuit or even as Vettel suggests upgrading Road America.
Couldn’t agree more.
I have never quite understood the need for over the top events in the USA .Its as if F1 feels the need to out do IndyCar. I agree with Seb .There are many great tracks in the USA.Let the racing do the talking.
I agree…but SV can’t spend one hour campaigning that racing and funds need to be focused on diversity and in diverse areas (Miami is multicultural and was one of the main reasons for it being picked as a location)… and then the next hour saying “it sucks, we should be at old school tracks”
They way F1 does events in the US is ridiculous. The real F1 fans can’t afford a ticket and the rich are there because it’s “cool” right now. It really turns me off to F1. Danny Ric doing his stupid “country hic” impression every time at COTA and the commentators call it an “American accent”. Really? I’m actually offended. That “show” they had before the race where the brought the teams up on the stage (ah-hem, podium) was the worst thing I think I may have EVER seen. WHAT in God’s name was that finger painter doing? Imagine paying all the money for general admission and that sh1t show is what you got? F1 in the States, and it hurts me to say this, sucks. Now they want to increase capacity for next year. I actually feel like a lot of the people that attended this year won’t come back. Seb is 100% right. They should have actually invested in good racing by helping Road America. Instead they are investing in an “experience”. Guess they don’t believe their product can stand on its own in the States. Sad. Take care everyone, -Eric 🏁