Miami F1 GP explores a night race shift but faces challenges delaying it beyond 2025.
The Miami F1 Grand Prix is still considering switching to a night race rather than a daytime event. However, ongoing studies will not be completed soon enough for this change to occur next year, as confirmed by the promoter, and it will be at least until 2026.
“We won’t do it in 2025, but we are in the middle of a study to see what it would look like, what the impact would be,” said Tyler Epp, president of the Miami GP, to Autoweek. “We are just at the beginning of studying this option. We will see where we stand. 2025 will be in the late afternoon, as always, Eastern Time.”
Being an American leg in the East of the USA, Miami could have very inconvenient times for Europe if it took place at night: “There are unexpected consequences that we need to consider from the start of conversations. It’s mainly about two important points. The first is the connection with the broadcast of Formula 1.”
“This pushes it back a bit and makes it difficult for other parts of the world to see what we are doing. Similarly, bringing the race to dusk or evening, and the impact this has on the Miami Gardens community, requires us to get ahead on this point.”
“The other element is the impact on the community and making sure we are aware and conscious of the impact it has. We need to ensure all consequences are planned for in advance.”
The Sprint will continue to take place on Saturday in Miami, as the effects have been as positive as hoped for the success of the event: “I must admit I was very wary of the Sprint race and the impact it would have.”
“It has been positive for us. Our one-day attendance increased on Saturday, and the feedback was directly related to the sprint race. Associating the sprint race with the qualifications for the Grand Prix is positive.”
“We have committed with F1 for the next two years to organize the Sprint race. We are very satisfied with this at this stage. I don’t know what we will do from there.”
Attracting more spectators, but not too many
Although looking to have more spectators, the Miami Grand Prix will not do so at the expense of everyone’s comfort: “Flooding the venue with more people creates bottlenecks and things we want to avoid.”
“One of the essential things we are looking to do is stabilize the supporter base. We take a little inspiration from the Dolphins (the NFL team using the Hard Rock Stadium) by setting up a membership program.”
“We have great ambitions; we aim to be one of the key races on the calendar. Moments like Lando’s first win, or having great overtakes in specific turns, and significant moments in history.”
Miami manages to thrive on the calendar alongside all the other North American races: “The working relationships between the events are really positive. We have a lot to learn from each other.”
“It’s a healthy working relationship, which includes Canada and Mexico in the North American hub. F1 deserves credit for being flexible here. When you go to Vegas, it feels like Vegas. I hope that in Miami, you feel like you’re in Miami, and it’s the same in Austin.”
“They offer something completely different for the fans. We feel like we have evolved each year. The challenges are different every year. We see this as an opportunity to stabilize the business a bit.”
Sustaining the “community” of Miami Gardens
The Miami Grand Prix wants to continue providing entertainment throughout the weekend, and even sometimes two days before the first trials. A night format could also help with this, and even extend the party beyond the limits of the circuit and the stadium.
“It’s planned for now, but we’ll always think about it, especially because we run the risk of having a very, very hot race weekend, and if you theoretically race a bit later, it changes quite a few things. So, we will always think about it.”
“We will continue to focus on entertainment. We have an excellent partnership with Hard Rock—they do a great job supporting us—so we will continue to emphasize this point.”
“We will continue to focus on the concept of opening a bit earlier and doing something like the first year, the Wednesday night party. We’ll consider the possibility of doing something like that again, either on Wednesday or Thursday.”
“The most important thing for us is to try to get a lot of things starting to happen along the beach and throughout the Miami community. So, it’s about getting our tentacles into some of those.”
“We have been approached many times about official parties, this and that. We have taken care not to mess with that, as we want to stay focused on what’s happening on our campus.”
“But I think that in the fourth year, we will start to engage a bit outside of what happens on the track during those three or four days, and we will try to broaden our scope of action within the community a bit.”
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2025 Too Soon for Miami F1 GP Night Race 2025 Too Soon for Miami F1 GP Night Race
