USA prepares for Formula One frenzy during inaugural Miami Grand Prix

Formula One arrives in Miami riding something of an American wave that has left many within the paddock a little shell-shocked.

After more than 40 years of trying - and failing - to make it Stateside, Grand Prix racing comes to the Sunshine State in the midst of a frenzy. Ticket sales for the weekend at the Hard Rock Stadium are reportedly close to a sell-out even at $500 for raceday general admission.

A cursory inspection of the circuit’s web site offers three-day Turn 18 seats selling for a ruinous $1,325. But, post-covid, plenty seem to be willing. Only a handful of more than 5,000 seats were available in the vast expanse of 17 grandstands there.

That’s something of a transition from my earliest experiences in America, at Phoenix in 1990. The attendance was less than that of a nearby ostrich race. At the time the cultural chasm was such that there was information in the programme helping locals to pronounce the names of all the unknown foreign drivers. ‘Air-tune Senn-ah’ was a particularly favourite I recall.

In the decades since, F1 has blindly plugged away at America with little success. At times it didn’t help itself. At Indianapolis in 2005, internal politics resulted in a shambolic six-car race and a walkout by many of the 130,000 crowd. “The death of F1 in America” read one headline. Well, not quite.

Nothing to see here, just Craig Slater having a swim at the #MiamiGP's fake harbour