After more than a month-long break in the competition schedule – including two cancelled Formula One grand prix – the world’s most renowned open-wheel racing series officially arrives in South Florida next week. Despite the war in Iran, the Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix plans to prove the show must go on.
With ongoing conflict in the Middle East, F1’s sanctioning body, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), cancelled races scheduled for April 12 and April 19 in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, respectively. It will resume its 22-race international schedule with the May 1-3 Miami Grand Prix weekend.
Newly appointed president of the Miami Grand Prix, Katharina Nowak, met with members of the South Florida media on April 21 to talk about Miami’s next turn on the worldwide racing stage and all the preparations that have been underway for months at the Miami International Autodrome at Hard Rock Stadium.
“I don’t know that anyone really saw this long break coming, you know, I think it was a bit of a surprise for everybody,” conceded Nowak, who at 28 is the youngest president in F1 race history and one of only two women in the world to hold such a position. She previously served as the race’s vice president of business operations.
“Of course, safety is the number one priority for everybody. Safety is obviously the most important thing. We’re obviously ready to go and ready to welcome our teams and all of our stakeholders back to the Miami Grand Prix here next week.
“We’ll start loading in and getting the garages prepped for full driver arrival on Wednesday, Thursday of race week,’’ she continued, adding, “Obviously we spend all year long planning for the race and while we did have that four-week break, our plan was set long before then of how we were going to deliver this Grand Prix.”
Social media is full of photographs and updates of drivers already stateside, including seven-time world champion Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton and current Cadillac F1 competitor Valtri Bottas. Both were photographed at California’s famed Coachella music festival last week.
After the unplanned break, there is a lot of motivation among both the F1 series and its huge South Florida fandom to get back on track, figuratively and literally.
And as it has done each year since its highly-applauded 2022 debut on the F1 calendar, Miami is expected to deliver.
‘Sprint race’ returning to Miami Grand Prix
Again, the F1 portion of the competitive schedule will include the very popular, 19-lap “Sprint Race” on Saturday (noon) giving spectators an “extra” dose of competition. Reigning world champion, McLaren Racing’s Lando Norris, won the event last year over teammate Oscar Piastri and Hamilton. Piastri would go on to win the Miami Grand Prix the following day.
New this year from a competition standpoint, Miami will be the only United States venue hosting a FIA Formula 2 race – essentially the top-tier feeder level for the F1 circuit. The F2 schedule on the 19-turn, 3.36-mile course around Hard Rock Stadium includes a Sprint Race on Saturday (10 a.m.) and a feature race on Sunday (12:30 p.m.).
This year’s F2 starting grid includes American driver, Californian Colton Herta, who has been a regular title contender in the U.S. NTT IndyCar Series for the last seven years and is a development driver on the Cadillac F1 team.
Even though the F2 race was a late addition to Miami Grand Prix weekend, Nowak welcomed the series to an already full competitive slate.
“There’s some logistical challenges there,’’ Nowak said of having to come up with another paddock and add the substantial track time. “The other impact it had was on our gate time. So we’re now running longer days – we’ve added two and a half hours in our gate times across the weekend because we’ve got more track activity.
“But the opportunity for us was really, A, to be good partners to Formula One and help solve a clear issue for them, and B, of course, add additional track time for our fans to get to experience Formula Two for the first time.
“So while there were some challenges added into that two months before the race, we’re happy we figured it out and now hopefully can deliver an excellent, action-packed weekend for our fans.”
Spectator improvements include new viewing opportunities in “Miami Neighborhood” themes to a first-of-its-kind free admission “Fan Fest” in Miami Beach’s Lummus Park.
DJ Diesel (Shaquille O’Neal) will be at ‘Hard Rock Beach Club’
The famous “Marina” trackside will now include a five-deck, live-size superyacht “structure” with expansive track viewing. And the popular “Hard Rock Beach Club” will feature A-list entertainment including Zedd and Nelly on Friday, Marshmello and DJ Diesel (Shaquille O’Neal) on Saturday, followed by Loud Luxury and Kane Brown on Sunday.
The agenda is packed on-track and off-track with the idea of providing an evolutionary sense of upgrades for locals, who may just be checking out the race scene for the first time, or diehard race fans – many coming internationally – eager to get the schedule rolling again.
And Miami Gardens is ready. The first practice is scheduled for Friday, May 1 at 12:30 p.m.
“I like to say that they pull off the impossible every day, and they really do,’’ Nowak said. “We’ve got a really strong stadium and event operations team here. And it’s been a wild eight months for me. It’s been an absolute humbling experience to see not only the support that I’ve gotten from our ownership, Stephen Ross, and Tom Garfinkel, but also just the team around us.
“And so it’s been … challenging, but also the most fun I’ve had in a job. And I’m super passionate about what we do here.”
F1 Miami Grand PrixMay 1-3
Miami International Autodrome, Hard Rock Stadium
TV: ESPN, ABC
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Iran war will not hinder Formula One Miami Grand Prix
Reporting by Holly Cain, Special to The Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
