Miami promoter addresses potential swap in F1 calendar

The promoter of the Miami Grand Prix says its place in the Formula 1 schedule "is pretty firm" as series chiefs try to tweak the calendar.

F1 has earned criticism in recent times over the placing of certain races in the calendar and has been exploring 'grouping' Grands Prix by region in a bid to reduce their carbon footprint.

Miami joined the calendar in 2022, with the race taking place on the first weekend in May in both years, and the event has been linked with running back-to-back with the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal – usually held in June during the middle of the European leg of the season.

However, Tom Garfinkel – who is the Managing Partner of the Miami race as well as vice-chairman, president and CEO of the Miami Dolphins – says their placing in the schedule is tough to move owing to other events.

Miami secure in its place

"That's up to them, it's their schedule," Garfinkel told media when asked by RacingNews365.com about F1 moving the event to run back-to-back with Canada.

"Our date, if you will, is pretty firm, because of all the other activities we have [at the Hard Rock stadium].

"We obviously can't do it in the fall because we have football games, we have the tennis tournament in the last weekend of March, so our date can't really move because of that.

"But what they decide to do around that is in the best interest of F1, their priorities and what they are trying to accomplish.

"They've got a lot of other factors they have to consider in those decisions and we have a pretty tight window, because of the other events that take place here in this facility."

'Excited' for Las Vegas

2023 will feature three Grands Prix in the United States, with the official US Grand Prix taking place in October in Austin while the new race on a Saturday night in Las Vegas will be in November.

Garfinkel dismissed any concerns about Vegas stealing some of Miami's thunder, believing the addition of the event can only be good for the series.

"No, I'm excited for it, I think it is good for the sport, good for American F1 fans and I think it should be really exciting," he explained.

"Having been around motor racing for a long time, I've never really sat in front of a television with someone who didn't know anything about motor racing or Formula 1 and then showed it to them and had them fall in in love with watching a race.

"But when I take someone to a race, and I share it with them who is not necessarily a huge auto racing fan, they fall in love with it when they go to the race.

"These events are great for building the fan base further, things like Netflix have obviously been great about storytelling, getting people engaged and wanting to come out to venue, to the event.

"They're blown away by these machines – people that haven't seen them, friends and business people who have never been to a Formula 1 race and watch their eyes when the cars come whipping by here and decelerate at such a rate, so it is fun and great for everything."