Austin may have hosted Formula 1 since 2012, but the real test for if the championship could finally break into American culture came a decade later when the decision was taken to race in Miami.
The Circuit of the Americas stages the de facto United States Grand Prix and is often seen as the home for ‘traditional’ F1 race fans, but to truly make an impact in the US, F1 knew it needed to make a bigger splash.
Enter the Miami Grand Prix and its fake marina, hosting its first race in 2022 and fast-becoming a go-to destination for celebrities, sports stars and anyone else wanting to rub shoulders with a championship growing in popularity courtesy, in no small part, to Drive to Survive.
On Friday, just moments before the first F1 track action of the 2025 event, CEO and president Stefano Domenicali was joined by Tom Garfinkel, managing partner of the Miami Grand Prix, as a 10-year contract extension for the race was announced.
It means F1 will be in Miami Gardens until at least 2041, with Domenicali explaining the key role the race is playing for the growth of the series.
“[We are] confirming that Miami will be part of our biggest strategy to be even stronger in the United States of America,” he said.
“This is a place where it’s crucial to be. We have shared a lot of thinking together to make sure that this event will be, as it has been, incredibly successful, but also could be one of the most important pillars for our growth in this country that, as you know, is representing the place where we do believe we can do a lot of things together.
Carlos Sainz, Williams
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
“Our strategy is to make sure that we have a long-term deal with the incredible partners that we have all around the world. And that has been one of the things that in this specific sector is one of the fundamental parts of our stability in the growth.
“I don’t think it is wrong to say that it was my first deal that I signed when I came in [as CEO] with Tom, because, of course, Miami, there were talks since a couple of years before, but we wanted to hammer down a very important and significant piece in this part of U.S.”
Domenicali spoke exclusively to Autosport on the eve of the race weekend, discussing how F1 had been operating a targeted strategy for US growth.
That strategy has included adding the Las Vegas Grand Prix in 2023 – promoted by F1 itself – bringing the number of F1 races in America to three, a number Domenicali believes is sustainable.
“It’s relevant to say that every single place we are, here in the U.S, [is for] different customer clusters, and also we try to put in the calendar in a way that there’s no kind of cannibalisation.
“Definitely, every one of the three different elements is complementary to our strategy. Therefore, this will push the other element, even if one [Las Vegas] is under our control, to make sure that we stabilise this presence in the U.S. for better.
“Miami was absolutely fundamental to the next step that we did after the pandemic, because we [must not] forget that after the pandemic there were a lot of question marks – and therefore, the fact that we were able to deliver that race and to show that Miami was the right thing with this specific customer base, with what is Miami into the equation of the bigger picture of U.S.
“So, therefore, as I said, it’s really crucial because we can really think long-term – as everyone should think how to leverage together the growth of our sport.
“We want to think bigger and bigger. The only way to think big is to work together with partners that are the best, and it will help us to know an environment that we are still discovering and that will be beneficial for sure for both of our work.”
