Formula 1 arrives in Miami in 2022

Paris | F1 follows its American dream: after the United States Grand Prix in Austin, the Miami Grand Prix will be part of the Formula 1 calendar from 2022 onwards.

Controlled by American group Liberty Media since 2017, F1 stopped in Miami in 2019, but talks with Florida city officials have been far more complicated than expected.

This time, it’s official. The United States, which has already hosted the GP in Austin, Texas since 2012 (October 24 this year), will have two races in the F1, with IndyCar and Nasscar looking to settle more on the ground.

In addition to Asia, the United States is one of the preferred markets for the World Single-Seater Championship.

The Miami GP takes place in the Miami Gardens, about thirty kilometers from Miami. If the exact date is not yet known, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali says the GP should switch to the second half of the calendar.

“We are laying the foundations for an incredible future for F1, which is an important step,” Dominicali told a news conference, believing that F1 was “moving in the right direction” with the next “exciting” races. Miami.

The 5.41-kilometer circuit, with 19 turns and three straights, will be built around the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the Miami Dolphins football team, whose CEO Tom Garfinkel is GP’s local promoter.

Away from the palm trees

“We can not be happier,” Garfinkel praised at a press conference with Dominican, “Miami is undoubtedly the most powerful city in the United States right now.”

“I can not wait to be there”, Mexican Sergio Perez, Red Bull driver, for which Miami is “a very good city with a lot of power” and “Latin American community is very important”.

GP However Miami is a long way from beaches and palm trees: in the city of Miami Gardens, mostly African-American populations have not escaped poverty.

The GP project has so far met with opposition from local residents, not to mention the arrival of the “Formula 1 circus”, its noise pollution and its massive paddock.

“Formula 1 and the GP promoter will work with the local community to obtain discounted ticket allocation for Miami Gardens residents,” F1 said in a statement, adding that “a program will be set up in support of local businesses and the community to reap racial benefits.”

With Hamilton?

The Miami GP hopes that the black pilot who made the fight against racism one of his struggles can count on the presence of seven-time world champion Louis Hamilton.

But Britain, in search of an eighth record coronation with Mercedes in 2021, has only signed a 36-year deal and his future is in suspense.

Miami will be the 11th destination to host F1 in the United States after Riverside, Sebring, Watkins Glenn, Long Beach, Las Vegas, Detroit, Dallas, Phoenix, Indianapolis and Austin.

In an interview in February, Ian Holmes, the media rights director of Formula 1, also told AFP that the sport was gaining increasing success in the United States, especially thanks to the Netflix documentary series. Drive for survival.

With the arrival of Saudi Arabia (December) in 2021 and the return of the Netherlands (September) in 2022, F1 foresaw a record calendar of 23 races to enter new regulation and new revolutionary single-seater.