I have some great news that I've been going nuts to share with you. Are you ready? Here goes: South Florida Motorsports (SFM) has confirmed the scheduled date for the second annual Formula 1® Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix to take place on Sunday, May 7, 2023. Can we get a big YAY?!!
“We are excited to bring back the Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix to Miami Gardens for year two. Preparations are already underway to deliver an event with great racing alongside an unparalleled fan experience for all of our key stakeholders,” said Tyler Epp, President of the Formula 1® Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix. “In hosting a record-breaking event this past May, the anticipation towards next year’s race has been tremendous and with this announcement we are excited to unveil new details in the upcoming weeks.”
For me and our team, it was a game changer. The energy around the experience last year was totally electric. It was a great opportunity to bring Miami into the global community of F1 and its thrilling environment of international speed, passion, technology and pageantry.
The smiles were everywhere and the environment was totally cool. We were thrilled to provide day-to-day coverage and can't wait to do it again for the local and international fans of F1; the ole ones and the new ones.
It was amazing to see the international race community have such an activation in Miami.
Seeing and meeting people from all over the world and welcoming them to our fantastic region was exciting and uplifting.
It gave us an opportunity to be hosts, ambassadors. The Grand Prix also enabled us to be helpful to our visitors as we often served as guides for those who were interested in learning about local restaurants, entertainment venues, and our various beaches and parks to enjoy. Of course there was the parties. We'll get into that later.
In the first week of May, the venue hosted the first-ever Formula 1® Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix, held around a new 19-turn circuit known as the Miami International Autodrome, built around Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. As you can see from the above image, it's vibrant, tropical and looks very cool, like Miami.
There's Max Verstappen celebrating his inaugural win at the stadiums south plaza as the fans loved the moment. The race, which is one of 24 races worldwide comprising the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship and will take place at the Miami International Autodrome. This is a great time to kick off the excitement because the season is going strong and the middle pack driving teams are still sorting out their standings and that has a lot to do with what things will look like next year.
Last year's inaugural winner, Max Verstappen pictured below left, wants to repeat but the teams will have had time to upgrade eo mount a challenge.
The 2022 weekend attracted over 243,000 spectators across the three days and culminated with a thrilling race as Verstappen beat the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc. Verstappen and the Red Bull team looks strong at this point in the season and will likely be the man to beat in the upcomnig season.
Its very possible that this race will be a nail biter.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc has shown driving brilliance and the team certainly has fast cars but that's not going to be enough to challenge Red Bull in the coming season. Leclerc has to eliminate mistakes, take on Verstappen with agressiveness in the corners and finish strong to get a shot at a title and winning in Miami in 2023 will be vital. Leclerc, pictured below, is one of the favorites to beat Verstappen. If anyone can, it might be Charles.
Besides the blistering on-track action, fans were able to soak up the incredible atmosphere of the event which quickly became the hottest ticket in town. Celebrities from the worlds of film and music mingled with sports stars in luxury VIP hospitality areas, such as Hard Rock Beach Club and MSC Cruises Yacht Club while international DJs performed to the entire campus and Miami restaurants served up the best local cuisine.
The other cool thing about it coming back to Miami for a second year is we've seen the evolution of some of these young drivers that are emerging as stars in f1. We all know about the reigning champ Max verstappen, and the world continues to be in a love affair with Lewis Hamilton, but there are plenty of up in commerce who have proven their drivers and skills to be worth a watch. George Russell with the Mercedes team continues to look strong as well as the Ferrari team of LeClaire and saints. All eyes will also be on how well the McLaren and Alpine teams do at the start of the 2023 season.
See you in Miami.