Three reasons why a Miami GP would be a disaster

With Liberty Media looking to expand the Formula One schedule from 2019, Miami has been widely-tipped to be added to the calendar, but the local press are being vocal in their condemnation of the plans, outline a huge number of logistical problems.

Securing another Grand Prix on American soil has been a long-term aim of Liberty Media, with New York also mentioned in the conversation, but dignitaries in Miami voted for their city to play host.

Mayor of Miami, Francis Suarez, spearheaded the campaign for his city to host a race, believing it would ultimately generate revenue, saying: "Miami is a world-class, global city and Formula One is a world-renowned, global event. Naturally, joining forces is something that would be highly exciting for both our city and the racing world.”

However Miami's film and culture administrator, Vicente Betancourt, claimed in November that any plans for a GP in the city is ridiculous as they simply can't afford it.

“I was very blunt with [Formula One] and said we’d love to entertain it, but we have no money,” Betancourt said.

Ryan Nicol, a writer for website Florida Politics, has outlined just how expensive hosting this race could be - and that's before you get to the disruptions involved in setting up the track.

IT'S HURRICANE SEASON

The Formula One calendar runs from March to November, and the Miami GP is expected to be staged in October, which wouldn't have worked out well in 2017, considering there were 30 hurricanes battering the city in that month alone. If the city is preoccupied with the massive undertaking of setting up the track, and a significant hurricane hits, a logistical nightmare could ensue.

THE COST

FIA regulations require concrete barriers to be erected at the side of the track which will take weeks (and resources) to construct. The FIA also requires track surfaces to be up to 'Grade 1 Homologation' standard. This, combined with other organisational costs, comes to a projected $60 million every year the race is run - a figure which Betancourt has said they cannot afford which, over the length of the provisional 10-year agreement, runs over half a billion dollars.

DISRUPTION & NOISE POLLUTION

Major downtown streets will need to be closed not just on the weekend of the race but for weeks beforehand to put everything in place, causing traffic woes and reroutes for the residents.

F1 not only brings entertainment to a city, but plenty of noise, too. The likes of Monaco relish the opportunity to have the race featured in their streets, but American fans are simply not used to this, with their main choice of motorsport, Nascar, being driven outwith urban areas.

It seems that both Liberty and Miami have moved quickly to press ahead with without seriously considering one thing - how they are going to pull this off, regularly.