Miami Grand Prix welcomes F1 drivers to Hard Rock Stadium with South Florida vibe
MIAMI GARDENS — From the bright teal-painted landscape underneath a bright sunny sky to the Hard Rock Stadium field filled inside with mobile team headquarters and dotted outside by Miami’s famous Latin-inspired food trucks, the Formula One CRYPTO.COM Miami Grand Prix was on full display Thursday. Its unique character was recognized by the competitors, teams and fans who have only begun crowding the once-a-year stop at the Miami International Autodrome for Sunday’s big race.
The word of the day was “vibe” — more accurately, “good vibe.” It kept coming up."
“Just look around, when you drive around it’s so different for us from Europe, how it looks how it feels," said German driver Niko Hulkenberg, who drives for the only American entry, Haas F1 Team.
“Here it’s just consistent, the people, the Latin factor involved here is very unique, very different and it feels like a grand prix weekend but a grand prix weekend with lots of entertainment. It feels special and unique for that reason.”
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McLaren driver Lando Norris' race helmet will be painted as a "beach ball" in a nod to the South Florida “vibe.” He smiled broadly and acknowledged he and the rest of the racing circuit enjoy their time in Miami, which joins Austin, Texas, and Las Vegas on the F1 schedule this year as America hosts the most grand prix races.
“The vibe is pretty sick so far," Norris said. “I think everyone enjoys it here, it’s good weather, just good fun. Cool that a lot of different people come here and it’s an important weekend because we have a lot of partners and brands for us especially, we have a lot of American brands so there’s that side of it. I love coming here and hope it’s a good weekend."
Different this time for the Miami race is the fact that local fans will have a local driver to cheer on. Fort Lauderdale’s Logan Sargeant is a rookie competing for the famed Williams Racing team. The smile on his face certainly showed his enthusiasm for being “home.” He joked that he’d probably gotten close to a thousand ticket requests from family and friends to attend the Miami Grand Prix.
He is the first American Formula One driver since 2015 when Alexander Rossi drove a limited schedule.
Logan Sargeant was at Hard Rock Stadium for Packers-Dolphins game
“I’ve watched endless [Miami Dolphins] games in the stadium,’’ said a smiling Sargeant, whose best finish in the four F1 races to date this season is 12th at the season-opener in Bahrain.
“I was just here [at Hard Rock Stadium] on Christmas watching a game (Packers-Dolphins) and now here we are, first home grand prix. It’s pretty cool.’’
To that point, several Dolphins came out Thursday to “coach” various Formula One drivers around an agility course set up on a portion of the field. The drivers had to run around obstacles, do agility drills and then throw a football into a target — with Alpine driver Pierre Gasly earning the best time among the drivers.
It was a great opportunity for the drivers to be exposed to American football and the Dolphins, including quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and linebackers Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb, who were all smiles and seemed to enjoy themselves.
The hard work for race teams begins Friday when the drivers will have their first laps around the 3.36-mile, 19-turn Miami International Autodrome. Two practices are slated for Friday with another one Saturday followed by qualifying to set the 20-car grid on Saturday afternoon.
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc won the pole position for last year’s race with Oracle Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen winning the race en route to his second consecutive season championship.
Verstappen currently leads the world championship standings by six points over his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, who is coming off a victory Sunday in Baku, Azerbaijan. Spaniard and former two-time world champion Fernando Alonso is ranked third — 33 points behind the Red Bull drivers.
Miami Grand Prix
Miami International Autodrome, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens
Friday: First practice, 2:30 p.m., ESPN; second practice, 6 p.m., ESPN
Saturday: Third practice, 12:30 p.m., ESPN; qualifying, 3:55 p.m.
Sunday: Race, 3:30 p.m., ABC (coverage starts at 2 p.m.)
Streaming options at Formula1.com
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: F1 drivers and fans ready for Miami Grand Prix at Hard Rock Stadium
