Miami Grand Prix plan hits trouble in City Hall meeting
The proposed Miami Grand Prix at the Hard Rock Stadium faced major local opposition during a public meeting of the board of county commissioners at Miami-Dade’s City Hall on Tuesday, and will now require a further public hearing in December if it is to happen as planned in 2021.
The new F1 track is proposed to be built using both public roads and the parking area for the stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins NFL team, which is located in the city of Miami Gardens about 15 miles north of Miami’s center.
During a motion entitled “Establishing county policy regarding motor vehicle racing” the opposition to the event at the stadium argued that a large-scale public hearing was required to discuss the full impacts of air and noise pollution, as well as disruption of road closures during the event.
Two votes were passed by commissioners, both aimed at derailing the process of bringing F1 to the stadium. The first was related to requirement of approval after a public hearing; the second was related to public road closures requiring county commissioner-level approval.
Proposed track layout for Miami Grand Prix track at Hard Rock Stadium
Photo by: Motorsport.com
The opposition group against the event was led by former county commissioner Betty T Ferguson. She argued that the county’s studies had shown “deadly effects” via air and noise pollution.
“It’s Formula 1 racing in a bedroom community,” said Ferguson. “The majority of residents in Miami Gardens do not want to see F1 racing at Hard Rock Stadium; the Miami Gardens city council voted to oppose Formula 1.
“We have seen too often deep pockets paint rosy pictures and have their way, only to the embarrassment of the county at a later date. Don’t allow F1 promoters to come in and roll over us over, like we’re not even humans.
“They can produce all kinds of phony statements about how they can mitigate the deadly effects, but we can never erase deadly health damage, and possibly permanent hearing loss, especially to children. Even the county’s own study verifies the deadly effects.
“No permission for road closure or special events should be given to the Dolphins without full public hearing.”
Miami Gardens Mayor Oliver Gilbert also spoke out against the race taking place: “We understand we’re in the business of tourism, but this has to be a good place to live and not just visit.
“F1 may bring people, but the people live here matter and sometimes we forget that. There’s people living around the corner, there are schools there. I’m not against events at the stadium, but not all events are the same. We’re not in support of Formula 1. It’s not a place to dump events that are toxic to people.”
Miami track rendering
Photo by: Hard Rock Stadium
Speaking on behalf of the stadium’s owners, Marcus Bach-Armas, senior director for legal and government affairs for the Miami Dolphins, lobbied that the commission had previously voted 13-0 in favor of bringing F1 to Miami, and they wanted the event to stay in the county after plans for the downtown street circuit fell through.
He also made it clear that the county had also authorized racing to take place at the venue: “We are zoned for motor vehicle racing because a couple of years ago we resolved a lawsuit with the county commission and the city council, there were public hearings and public votes and the resolution of those three years of discussions. And you voted to allow motor vehicle racing at the stadium district as a matter of right. Three years later, we’re rehashing that conversation.”
He said the event would be “an economic juggernaut for this area” and argued that the stadium was a “regional asset that’s balanced with residents, and we’ve worked together with them to sort through issues before. I don’t understand why the response now is simply ‘no’.
“The easy thing is to say ‘no’, but we should work through this so it benefits the community. We’ve always done that, and we’re looking to have the opportunity to do that. It would be embarrassing to give up this opportunity.”
Miami track rendering
Photo by: Hard Rock Stadium
The previous Miami Grand Prix plan – to run a street race around the Bayfront Park, Biscayne Boulevard and Port Miami areas – was hampered by vehement public opposition to the disruption that the event would cause to residents, coupled with the loss of the land around the American Airlines basketball arena. However, advocates of running the race at the Hard Rock Stadium stated that it was in fact the operation, construction, development and security issues at the port that ended the plan, rather than the residents’ challenge that killed it.
Formula 1’s commercial managing director Sean Bratches and two-time F1 world champion Emerson Fittipaldi also lobbied in favour of the event during the City Hall meeting. Fittipaldi mentioned the fact that he only came to Miami to race for Ralph Sanchez’s team in the Miami Grand Prix IMSA race, before making his home there.
Towards the close of the meeting, Miami-Dade’s Mayor Carlos Gimenez – who has been a supporter of the event – concluded: “This F1 race would be a terrific event. Hopefully we can work this out with the community it affects.”
Previous article
United States GP: All the winners since 1959
Next article
Vettel: Changing opinions of critics "a nightmare"
About this article
| Series | Formula 1 |
| Author | Charles Bradley |
How long can Verstappen and Hamilton keep it clean?
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have been evenly matched so far in the 2021 Formula 1 title race. Neither has been afraid to get aggressive against each other on track, teeing up an enthralling contest as the year unwinds. But how long will their battle remain clean? Jonathan Noble ponders that exact point
How Brabham’s one-hit wonder was boxed into a corner
The Brabham BT46B raced once, won once, then vanished – or did it? STUART CODLING reveals the story of the car which was never actually banned…
The changes Barcelona needs to provide a modern-day F1 spectacle
Formula 1’s visits to Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya over recent years have been met with familiar criticisms despite tweaks here and there to the track to improve racing. With the 2021 Spanish Grand Prix largely going the same way, proper solutions need to be followed to achieve F1’s wider targets
Spanish Grand Prix Driver Ratings
Often described as Formula 1's laboratory, the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona gave the clearest demonstration yet of the pecking order in 2021. And it's the key discrepancies from that order which illuminate who is excelling, and who needs to hit the reset button.
How Red Bull's deja vu set Hamilton on the winning path in Spain
An aggressive first corner move from Max Verstappen appeared to have set the Red Bull driver on course for victory in the Spanish Grand Prix. But canny strategy from Mercedes - combined with the absence of Red Bull's number two from the lead group - allowed Lewis Hamilton to pull off a demoralising reversal
The Barcelona practice times that prove Red Bull has hidden pace
Lewis Hamilton led the way in Friday practice for the 2021 Spanish Grand Prix, but there was one major encouraging sign for Red Bull. However, making good on that gain will require Max Verstappen to avoid repeating a mistake that left him well down the FP2 order...
Why McLaren doesn’t doubt Ricciardo can escape his ‘dark’ place
Three points finishes from as many starts represents a decent opening innings on paper, but Daniel Ricciardo has endured a tough start to his McLaren career - only magnified his teammate's excellent form. Yet both he and the team have good reason to expect a turnaround soon.
What needs to “change” for Red Bull is ending Verstappen’s errors
OPINION: Going up against the dominant force of Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton was always going to demand the best from Red Bull and Max Verstappen. But after making a couple more errors during the Portuguese Grand Prix, the Dutch driver showed there's a small gap he still needs to close in the 2021 Formula 1 title fight.
