F1 boss compares Miami experience to HISTORIC race

Miami GP, sign, generic — Photo: © IMAGO

Miami Grand Prix

F1 boss compares Miami experience to HISTORIC race

James Vowles was ebullient on the Florida race's impact

Chris Deeley

Sunday 5 May 2024 03:00

Williams team principal James Vowles has hailed the spectacle of the Miami Grand Prix, despite newfound competition for American glitz and glamor from the Las Vegas race.

Vowles even compared the atmosphere on the grid to that of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, famously one of the most electric circuits on the calendar.

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The US now hosts three yearly races, with the Circuit of the Americas in Austin joining the pair of temporary tracks in Miami and Vegas.

While there's yet to be an F1 racing tradition created around the Hard Rock Stadium, the first couple of events in the south of Florida have proved broadly popular, and attracted plenty of celebrity attention.

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Vowles: Miami is top tier

"This was a car park, fundamentally, that they converted into a top tier Formula 1 track. More so, I sort of rate things by how the atmosphere is on the grid. If you stand on the grid here and the race weekend, It's got similar repercussions to where you are at Silverstone or otherwise.

"You have a fan base that is completely in support of us as a series. And that simply wasn't the case three years ago. And that's through hard work and diligence by Tom and his team here. Again, to Zak [Brown]'s point, when you go to Vegas to here to COTA, all three are completely different.

"There's no real similarities between all of them. And that's the great thing about it. Fundamentally, they're different spectacles. But I think for all of us here, Miami is now for partners, for evenings, for effectively bringing in outside interest into the sport, top tier, if not the best out there."

Mercedes Miami Grand Prix Silverstone British Grand Prix James Vowles