Formula 1’s Miami Grand Prix Postponed Until at Least 2020
Formula 1 isn’t coming to Miami next year, and the event’s organizers see 2020 as their goal.
On Monday, a Formula 1 bigwig announced that the planned Miami Grand Prix will not occur in 2019 and will be held in 2020 at the soonest.
"In the last few months we have worked diligently alongside our promoter Stephen Ross of RSE Ventures, the City of Miami and Miami Dade County, to realise our ambition to bring a Formula 1 Grand Prix to Miami, and we have made significant progress: however, these are complicated negotiations," stated Sean Bratches, Managing Director of Commercial Operations of Formula 1."
"Whilst our preference would have been to race in Miami in 2019, there was always a point by which delivering the best possible wheel-to-wheel racing experience for our fans, drivers and teams wouldn't be possible in the time available. We have now reached that point as far as racing in Miami in 2019 is concerned. However, we are taking a long-term view and as a result, we have decided, in consultation with the Miami authorities, to postpone sign-off until later in the summer, with the aim of running the first Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix in the 2020 season."
The proposed Grand Prix faces resistance from the local populace, which expressed concerns of noise pollution and traffic disruption that the event could cause. Miami's City Commission has reportedly cooperated some with resistant residents, and according to Motorsport Week, has rerouted the race through Bayfront Park, instead of looping the American Airlines Arena as was originally planned. The park authority can reportedly end the deal to use the land between the period of Oct. 5 and Nov. 15 each year at any time, provided a year's advance notice is given.
Though the inaugural Miami Grand Prix has been postponed, the vote to approve it has not, and will be held Thursday according to Autosport. A hosting deal allegedly as long as 20 years has been proposed. A successful vote on July 26 guarantees a decade of racing, and the option to extend the hosting period to two decades. Approval will require four of five commissioners' votes (the enthusiastic mayor does not get a vote), and we will update when we know the results of the City Commission's voting.