F1: Morning update from completely sold-out Miami GP

–by Mark Cipolloni–

A quick morning update from the Miami GP.

It’s cloudy and windy this morning at the Miami circuit, with the sun expected to breakthrough before race time. The overcast skies are giving the teams and fans a welcome break from the intense sun here in Miami.

Fans are pouring in, but the green flag is not until 3:30p local time.  All the grandstand seats and suites are sold out, and they have now announced that all the General Admission Campus Passes are sold out as well.

You are not getting in today unless you grab a ticket on the secondary market or from a scalper. 90,000 fans will be let into the track today and no more.

The second act is always the hardest. The organizers of the Miami Grand Prix know that all too well and have done a good job to completely sell out the joint.

Despite criticism of the track from European fans because they are jealous that the USA has three F1 races, in fact, the drivers think it is a very good track now that it has been resurfaced.  Places to pass and very challenging.  It certainly beats their Mickey Mouse complete joke of a track called Monaco.  Monaco makes a good Formula E track, but F1 has grown out of it and the race should be axed if the Municipality cannot accommodate an extended layout.

Last night’s rain washed off the rubber that was laid down on the new asphalt, but after 10 laps or so things should get spicy.

Fans can see F1 drivers and Team Members in Paddock

F1’s paddock is now on the Dolphins home field. This is especially great for the campus pass fan, the general admission fan. Fans can watch the F1 paddock below and, crucially, can do so in the shade

By using the Hard Rock Stadium, and opening the stands up to fans to come and watch their favorite drivers below, Miami’s organizers have delivered something no other event currently offers.

Race Strategies by Pirelli

Sponsor Activation

Hard Rock, naming sponsor of the Miami Dolphins football stadium here, says it has grown from getting involved with Formula 1 just for Miami, to now working on a range of different deals across its businesses. According to Adam Stern of SBL, it introduced watch parties plus an F1-themed menu at its cafes, merchandise collections with
Red Bull and it hosted top hotel customers at Monaco.

Chipotle is now activating around its Haas F1 team sponsorship. Chipotle has now shown off the first Haas show car at one of its Chipotlanes.