F1's fake marina - what is it and why is it at the Miami Grand Prix?

The fake marina at F1's Miami GP in 2022, shot from below 'pool' level with a boat on the vinyl and fake wooden sides — Photo: © IMAGO

Miami Grand Prix

F1's fake marina - what is it and why is it at the Miami GP?

F1 returns to the Miami International Autodrome this weekend

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Friday 1 May 2026 16:54

After a five-week enforced break from the 2026 calendar, F1 returns this weekend for the Miami Grand Prix at the quirky Miami International Autodrome circuit.

The temporary track was built specifically to host an F1 race ahead of the inaugural event in Florida in 2022, with the showstopping street track boasting the Hard Rock Stadium at its centre.

But whilst the home field of the Miami Dolphins NFL team is very much the real deal, the marina background that has been fashioned to give the F1 race that luxury Monaco feel is far from it.

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Why does the F1 Miami GP have a fake marina?

The Miami GP is home to an unusual F1 paddock and race weekend setup thanks to it not being a permanent structure like some of the classic tracks such as Monza or Silverstone.

So when the new US-based race first debuted on the F1 calendar nearly four years ago, its organisers clearly felt they wanted to rise to the challenge of replicating some of the pinnacle of motorsport's most luxurious iconography.

At other street tracks such as the Monaco GP, A-listers and even local royalty watch on over the action in the Principality from the comfort of their own superyachts, which are docked in the real-life marina.

But when it comes to Miami, the boats you see on top of the 'water' aren't actually floating, they are instead simply stood atop a fake marina, made from a vinyl overlay which has a water-like texture image printed over the top of it.

So why does it exist if it isn't real? I'll leave that to Miami GP representative Tom Garfinkel to explain.

Prior to the very first Miami GP in 2022, Garfinkel told Autosport: "Initially, when we were looking at downtown [for the race location], F1 had some ideas about wanting the shots of the yachts. When we moved here [Miami Autodrome] for a number of reasons, most importantly because we didn't think we could have a good racing circuit downtown, I told F1 that you're gonna get your yacht shots, you're gonna have your yachts.

"They looked at me like I was crazy. And then I came back and drew it on the whiteboard and said: ‘I want a marina with yachts here, and we're gonna make it happen.’ And so we did. And it's a lot of fun."

Craig Slater's infamous dip in the Miami GP 'pool'

One individual who perhaps had a little too much fun upon discovering the fake marina for the first time was Sky F1 presenter Craig Slater.

During the 2022 Miami GP weekend, Slater was tasked with broadcasting live from the new 'Miami Bay', where the news reporter took an initial jump into the 'water' before imitating a backstroke, in a move which has made him one of the most memorable memes from the Miami GP in recent years.

"I got in a lot of trouble for that I have to say," Slater revealed during a Q&A session for Sky Sports in 2025, where he discussed the controversial moment.

"I hadn't intended to jump into the water. I knew it was a thing because people had planted images of themselves on images of the fake marina," the reporter continued.

"I jumped in and the camera panned off and in that moment I thought, 'I wonder if I can do a bit of a backstroke on the fake, plastic lagoon' and actually it worked quite nicely, I got a bit of traction as I was sort of moving myself.

"But there were apparently crisis meetings called with the Miami Dolphins management, they weren't pretty happy."

The Sky reporter later clarified that his attempt to swim in the fake marina was intended as nothing more than a light-hearted joke, adding: "Although they took it in good part when I subsequently saw them and there were a lot of phone calls. I felt really sorry for the people that were marketing the event because they thought I was poking fun at it.

"This really is a world class event, they do such a good job, it was meant to be a bit of innocent fun and it was totally spur of the moment."

I think it's safe to say the Sky Sports team learnt their lesson, with none of Slater's fellow broadcasters opting to take a dip in the 'pool' since.

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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F1 Miami Grand Prix Sky Sports Craig Slater Miami International Autodrome