Miami Grand Prix already under threat

The Miami Grand Prix's inclusion on the 2019 Formula 1 calendar is already under threat after Liberty Media failed to meet their own deadline to finalise the deal with the City Commission. F1 have made clear their intention to hold the race in September 2019, although time already appears to be tight.

Liberty's first race deal struck under their stewardship has been fraught with issues, ranging from driver dissatisfaction over the proposed track and angry local residents opposing the entire event.

The latter is believed to be behind the delay in signing of a deal to hold the race, which is proposed to travel through the city's downtown area.

A group of residents have fought back against F1's wishes, with the introduction of an F1 race to the existing Ultra Music Festival set to close the Bayfront Park area of the city for seven months of the year.

VIDEO: Proposed Miami GP layout
READ MORE: Miami GP approved

"F1 not only affects traffic much longer than Ultra; it is even louder. Ultra closes the park for three months and F1 would close it for another almost four months," Andres Althabe, president of the Biscayne Neighborhoods Association (BNA), told Forbes.

"The threat of a lawsuit is clear and this new layout of the race circuit only makes the situation worse."

Miami mayor Francos Suarez admitted recently that the city would face legal action over the plans.

While approving the race, commissioner Joe Carollo said: "We're going to end up being sued and I'm going to tell you that they're probably going to win suits."

A failure to add a second Stateside race would represent a huge dent in Liberty's plans for F1 expansion, which include giving China two races per year and expanding the schedule to 25 races.