Miami Grand Prix unlikely in 2020; may not happen at all

Miami Grand Prix

Miami Grand Prix unlikely in 2020; may not happen at all

Miami Grand Prix

Paul Macdonald

Tuesday 9 April 2019 11:46

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Despite announcing last year that a Miami Grand Prix was being added to the Formula 1 calendar, a local court decision has delayed a vote on whether the race can be held at all, casting fresh doubt over its inclusion in either 2020 or beyond.

Liberty Media suffered an embarrassing episode last year when they confidently announced that the Miami Grand Prix was coming in 2019, only to meet considerable resistance from the residents which led to a subsequent postponement and continued discussions about the viability of the race.

Locals are unhappy with the proposed route for the race, and F1 were also set to run into numerous logistical challenges including being able to close down a number of key streets in the area for at least two weeks to prepare the track.

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Miami City Commission were due to vote last September on whether to approve the race but it was then deferred, leaving a six-month voting window in which the matter could be resolved. According to the Independent, a vote was due to take place on March 28 but this has now been postponed again until May 19.

As a result there is still a chance that the race will be approved but even if it is, it will likely be too late to be included in 2020 and from there the sport is set to undergo a radical overhaul in 2021 in any case.

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The deal offered by Liberty Media to Miami in order to secure a race was met with much opposition from rival circuits. It is understood that Liberty waived any hosting fee - a significant cost for race organisers and a key revenue generator for Liberty - to make sure that Miami officials were incentivised to strike a deal.

As a result, other fee-paying races were left with their nose out of joint and Liberty will either need to appease them with similar agreements or face the potential of actually losing races, instead of reaching their intended target of 23-24 races per year.

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Vietnam has already been announced as a destination for 2020, while reports suggest the Netherlands will soon follow, with a five-year agreement to race at the Zandvoort track thought to be close to completion.