The Miami Grand Prix promoters have produced a specially commissioned “fly-through film” displaying every facet of the brand-new venue.
The fifth race of the current season will take place at the Miami International Autodrome for the first time on May 6-8.
The venue has developed a virtual map and film ahead of the sport’s arrival to highlight all of the best viewing places as well as some of the more unusual characteristics of the facility and the track layout.
The circuit circles around the Hard Rock Stadium and is 5.41 kilometers [3.4 miles] long. The track has a mix of fast, flowing corners and tighter chicanes, as well as a long back straight set that allows for overtaking into the tight turn 17 hairpin.
“To bring the glamour and elegance of Formula 1 and the technology of F1 racing to a dynamic, growing city like Miami right now is fantastic,” said Garfinkel, the managing partner of the event and the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium CEO, in a promotional video.
“The idea was how do you create a race for people that are used to going to races to think ‘this is different, this is fun, this is exciting’. I think, first of all, it’s about Miami.”
“Miami Gardens, and really the whole south of Florida, it’s become a curator of culture when you talk about fashion and art, music, food and sports. It’s a very attractive place.”
“I think from a racing standpoint, we’re introducing the best racing in the world and its technology, best engineering, the best cars and the best drivers to, potentially, a large group of people who haven’t been around it or seen it before.”
“I think that can have a large impact on peoples’ lives.”
Despite the high ticket pricing, the concert sold out in just 40 minutes, with grandstand seats currently selling for well over $1000 on resale sites.
The track has built a double-decked Paddock Club above the pit lane overlooking the start/finish line as part of its hospitality plans, with a second section that extends eastwards on the run to the inside of Turn 1, where Heineken also has a garden-style hospitality adjacent to the pit lane exit.
Before The Concours Club grandstand, trackside villas overlook Turns 2 and 3, followed by McLaren, Silver Arrows, and Ferrari ‘club’ zones. On the opposite side of the stadium from the pits, the Palm and 72 Club areas flank either side of the stunning platform construction.
The Hard Rock Club will establish a beach at the circuit to match Miami’s coastline position, with a 24,000 square-foot zone containing resort-style pools and two floors of luxury cabanas with musical performances around Turns 11, 12 and 13.
Red Bull, the event’s ‘founding partner,’ will also build a massive custom-built ‘Miami-themed atmosphere’ on the opposite side of the track at Turn 11, complete with an Energy Station and a wide trackside viewing platform.
For the race weekend, the Miami Dolphins training complex, which cost $135 million to build and inaugurated last year, will be transformed into the MIA Hospitality Village, with the stadium serving as a focus for ‘campus’ events such as art and music shows.
