I guess this is what you’d call meat on the bone.
With justification a few were murmuring that Liberty Media’s post Bernie Ecclestone F1 new dawn a year and a bit in wasn’t all that. That Liberty seemed better at delivering pronouncements – and of the non-specific sort – than achievements. But now in with a shot an F1 street race in downtown Miami, and as soon as for next year’s calendar, could be a goer.
And what a first achievement it would be. As Adam Cooper has pointed out all Liberty’s race deals so far have either been extensions or confirmation of things that were on the way anyway. This would be the first from scratch. For this reason combined with a few others, this is a big deal for Liberty and F1.
First that it’s Miami. A city that came in naturally – along with New York and Las Vegas – at the very top of its race host wish list. That is a quintessential ‘destination city’ that it wants to build the calendar around.
And one that provides rather more attraction than the usual autodrome. “The thing for F1 is it needs showpiece events; it needs standout things,” said Kevin Eason in response to the news. “One of the great things about Baku is the scenery, you feel as though you’re somewhere exciting and different. Whereas a lot of the venues we got with Bernie like China, it’s a very grand set-up there but so what you could be anywhere.
“Whereas this says you’re in America, in Miami, it’s very exciting, there’s a beach, there’ll be sunshine…”
No wonder talk is of this one departing from the usual (sizeable) hosting fee arrangement, perhaps with a risk or revenue sharing joint venture between F1 and the promoter.
Then there’s the country it is in. Yes we already have an America round, in Austin. But there should be no doubt of America’s ability to stage at least two races. For the purposes of the F1 calendar America should be thought of as a continent rather than as a country and there will be 1,300 miles between the two venues. That’s further than between Silverstone and the Hungaroring.
A lot of the venues we got with Bernie like China, it’s a very grand set-up there but so what you could be anywhere. Whereas this says you’re in America, in Miami, it’s very exciting, there’s a beach, there’ll be sunshine – Kevin Eason
And there should be no doubt about the desirability of it either. A vast and wealthy country with possibly unparalleled attachment to sport and to the automobile. Really an F1 world championship a can hardly call itself such without major presence in the United States.
There’s plenty of F1 self-interest too. The potential market available there is not to be underestimated, and neither is the fanbase for F1 in America. Let’s not forget that some 175,000 turned up to the inaugural Indianapolis race in 2000. And this potential is good news for sponsors and manufacturers’ investment.
It’s worth a historical re-tread as well to give us some indication of the prize that awaits F1 getting it right on this. F1 did used to get it right in America, with Watkins Glen and Long Beach. They only appeared together on the calendar five times (1976 to 1980) – but that they’re still harked back to says something about the impact. And the paradise lost.
One was east, one west. One a street track, one a road course. One at the start of the season, one at the end. Both vibrant and popular, with big crowds. The parallels aren’t perfect with this Miami event alongside the existing Austin round – if nothing else describing Austin as west is a bit of a stretch plus the aim is for this Miami round to be in October which opens the possibility of it being a double-header with Austin rather than split. But the parallels still are enticing.
Of course there remain plenty of hurdles to clear. The recent City Commission vote was a formality and now what Cooper described as “the hugely complex paperwork trail” will have to be constructed for the ‘Host City Contract’, which will need to be approved by a majority of four (the deadline set for this is July 1). So the hard bit starts now. We’re not so much at the beginning of the end as the end of the beginning, to borrow from Winston Churchill.
F1 did used to get it right in America, with Watkins Glen and Long Beach. One was east, one west. One a street track, one a road course. Both vibrant and popular, with big crowds. The parallels are enticing.
And more broadly plenty of bold plans for F1 rounds have evaporated before reaching reality, not least with proposed rounds in America. After all we were supposed to have a New Jersey race with the Manhattan skyline as its backdrop back in 2013, it even cleared enough hurdles to get onto a provisional calendar. But then the money didn’t materialise and the whole shebang fizzled out.
Further back in the early ‘80s for three years in a row we had a New York round on the itinerary that we still await. Even the Stateside races that happened often had a blink and you miss it quality. Reflecting as much Austin is America’s F1 host number 10 in history.
But the opposite also is common and less readily cited. That those doom-mongers vocal in advance frequently are proved wrong. It seems ridiculous now but there were plenty of discouraging noises prior to our first Austin visit. Talk of delays, financial problems, cancellations, low local interest and awareness combined with that the first race clashed with NASCAR’s season finale, local resistance including to that the hosting fee was paid with public money at a time of cuts, poor access roads, lawsuits, environmental protests, politicking and splits including that the project’s brainchild Tavo Hellmund was unceremoniously side-lined.
“A trip to Texas first looked like it would be yet another own goal on F1’s list of repeated attempts to break America. And it could still turn out that way,” declared journalist Kate Walker a matter of weeks prior to the first Austin race.
We expected to hear worries about traffic. What we found instead is that many South Floridians are so, so ready for Formula One to come here. Really ready – South Florida publication Sun Sentinel
One might ask what’s in it all for Miami, with justification. After all Bernie tried for years to get an F1 race in this city and met with typical stumbling blocks – where the money is coming from and whether all are prepared to put up with the inevitable heavy disruption. And unlike other venues that roll the red carpet and throw money at F1 Miami hardly needs a Grand Prix to boost its international profile. On that point there is no commitment yet on whether local public money will be made available to help this race.
On the disruption point, at least a couple of local groups appear to be objecting already. Yet going by the Sun Sentinel – a South Florida news outlet – asking its readers for feedback on the plans in recent days there doesn’t appear any lack of local enthusiasm in Miami for this event even so.
“We expected to hear worries about traffic – dire predictions of Carmageddon befalling a city whose traffic already crawls on the best days,” it reported. “What we found instead is that many South Floridians are so, so ready for Formula One to come here. Really ready. Threatening-the-local-economy ready.”
It’s not a scientific study of course; views may change too once the said disruption becomes an actuality. But it’s a very encouraging finger in the air measure. The mayor and Chamber of Commerce are onside too.
Miami is well used to hosting large sporting events, with a range of high profile franchises and MLS with David Beckham in tow about to join them. It’s well used also to hosting motorsport including in some cases on downtown street tracks, for the likes of IndyCar and predecessors, IMSA and more recently Formula E.
While F1 would have something over most of the rest in its international profile. And Miami prides itself on being an international city. It’s clear this is a major factor.
F1 is a worldwide sport with approximately 1.8billion TV viewers annually. I believe it will help in the transition of the city of Miami from a gateway city to a global city – Miami mayor Francis Suarez
“F1 is a worldwide sport with approximately 1.8billion TV viewers annually,” said Miami mayor Francis Suarez during the recent hearing.
“I believe it will help in the transition of the city of Miami from a gateway city to a global city.”
F1 also has done a good job in pitching the benefits, outlining those in tourism, promotion, employment, volunteering opportunities, and of course money. “It has a potential economic boost of over $2.8billion,” Suarez continued, “[which was recorded] between the years of 2012 and 2015 in downtown Austin, which is the only other city in the United States that has an F1 race.”
A proposed circuit layout also was published and it takes in a section of Biscayne Boulevard and has elements of the Miami tracks used by IMSA, CART and Formula E. The proposed F1 layout runs across the water and back via Port Boulevard bridge, featuring two extended full throttle zones ended by hairpins which presumably are intended to create plenty of overtaking action a la Baku.
But again typically it elicited a round of complainants on the grounds that the layout was uninspiring. Including among their number Lewis Hamilton.
It would be optimistic to expect a downtown street track to have Eau Rouge on it though. Presumably these people too would have recoiled similarly upon seeing a Long Beach layout in 1976, which for all we associate with sweeping Shoreline Drive was actually for the most part a tight affair. Indeed the Miami track’s curving straight ending with a hairpin is Shoreline Drive-esque.
Certainly having F1 cars going across the bridge in either direction will be visually stunning. And Romain Grosjean for one reminded us in Barcelona that it’s not always the most flowing tracks that provide the best races.
Miami may yet prove to be the latest – and grandest – Liberty mirage. But surely anyone who cares for F1 will hope that this one becomes reality.