The promoters of the Miami Grand Prix say the new track which will hold the race is almost complete.
They say the Miami International Autodrome, which is laid out around the Hard Rock Stadium, is “95% complete”. The first Miami Grand Prix will take place after this weekend’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, on May 6th-8th.The event’s CEO Richard Cregan said they are “in the final stages” of completing the track following the race’s announcement one year ago yesterday.
“We are delighted with the progress we have made and it’s a huge credit to the hard work of the team here in Miami, in consultation with both Formula 1 and the FIA, to get this circuit finished in a tight timeline,” said Cregan.
“We have tried to create a track that drivers love to race on and a campus that offers unique, best-in-class fan experiences and we can’t wait for the first weekend in May to be here.”
The 5.41-kilometre, 19-turn circuit will include three straights and one continuous, 1.28-kilometre acceleration zone. It is expected to have three DRS zones.
The circuit was laid using 24,000 tons of asphalt and 11,000 metres of concrete barriers and debris fences. “There has been no compromise on any aspect of the circuit design or quality of construction,” Said Cregan.
“In my experience of working with new venues over the years, I’ve never seen as much effort on perfecting the surface of the track as we have done in Miami. Everything was exactly per the design, and everyone involved in construction has done an incredible job.”
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Red Andy (@red-andy)
19th April 2022, 8:20
We’ve heard this one before. Jeddah wasn’t signed off until the day before first practice, and the weekend was an embarrassing farce in both F1 and the support categories.
New circuits should not be allowed to join F1 unless they have been homologated by the FIA before they are added to the calendar. While this may present an issue for temporary street circuits, I suggest that they should hold a non-F1 event first, before which the circuit can be inspected and homologated.
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
19th April 2022, 8:31
@red-andy Unfortunately this is how it’s going to happen. Domenicali and Co. seems to be wanting to squeeze out every last penny they can get, and to what end, I don’t really know. Maybe to make up for the losses in 2020?
ajpennypacker (@ajpennypacker)
19th April 2022, 16:37
That makes no sense whatsoever. You do realize that it costs FOM money to fail to host a race? Even with any penalties organizers would have to pay, it’s in the best interest of the sport for races to take place.
Anyway, this should be a great event if those annoying Floridians don’t spoil it with their frivolous lawsuits
Mark Zastrow (@markzastrow)
19th April 2022, 12:09
@red-andy Not sure that running a non-F1 race before adding Jeddah to the schedule would have made any difference. The issues regarding safety and visibility were still present this year after having run an F1 race the year before. I don’t think the problem was that it should have been homologated earlier — the problem was that the FIA Grade 1 guidelines allowed it to be homologated in the first place.
If there’s a timeline risk involved for Miami, I’d guess most of it lies not with any part of the circuit that would be subject to homologation, anyway, but with amenities like grandstands and suites and the, er, yacht club. IndyCar’s Nashville race last year ran into supply chain issues with their build and one of the main grandstands wasn’t constructed when ticket holders showed up on Friday (it only got finished Sunday morning, IIRC).
@wsrgo
Don’t know if I agree with that, as it’s been reported that F1 is not collecting a hosting fee and is co-promoting the race with Stephen Ross. Dieter reported on this site that Liberty promised Ross a Miami GP in exchange for him dropping his competing bid for F1’s commercial rights. So in that regard, this race is an obligation, and the cost of doing business (and there’s certainly an opportunity cost in terms of the hosting fee a race in a different country could fetch). If anything, this isn’t F1 squeezing out the last penny, it’s the opposite — F1 sacrificing quick revenue as an investment to grow the sport.
SteveR
19th April 2022, 23:26
Yeah, it’s amazing to me that ‘tracks’ like Miami and the soon to come Las Vegas and the Arab tracks are certified as Grade 1 by the FIA but awesome circuits like Road America, where CART and Indycar race(d) are just not up to snuff………
some racing fan
26th April 2022, 1:00
The organizers at Road America would never spend the millions required to bring the track up to Grade 1 spec. If they did, then this would have been done by October 1981, when Watkins Glen went off the calendar. They have IndyCar, NASCAR Cup and IMSA sportscars- the 3 biggest racing series over here coming every year- which is good enough for them, apparently. The Carousel and the Kink in particular would be very hard to create extra runoff because it is right next to an active railroad.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
19th April 2022, 9:42
Hope the Scalextric joins up at the end (it didn’t seem to at Shanghai, where there’s that odd little dip just before the pits…)
tielemst
19th April 2022, 10:22
So will they just put yachts on a trailer and dump them in the marina. That’s a pretty sad way to get that Monaco feel.
Michael A.
19th April 2022, 10:35
Another car park Grand Prix, what a complete farce Formula One has become. What about the court case where locals are trying to get the race stopped?
Ah, the money is obviously big enough to keep this farce going.
Does nothing at all for me.
Next will be another ‘World Championship’ totally based in the USA – that seems to be coming!
some racing fan
20th April 2022, 0:56
If F1 is a farce to you and it does nothing for you, why do you bother wasting time commenting?
Michael A.
20th April 2022, 3:12
To: Some Racing Fan
Formula One has become, in a number of ways, a farce in recent years. I have been an enthusiast for Formula One since 1950. Yes, I am old and cranky, but I am entitled to my opinion. I feel that what is now being crammed into a season, is all about corporate greed. I live in Melbourne (Australia) but went to Albert Park just once, that was enough for me, however, I attended every Grand Prix that was held in Adelaide – for me that was a great circuit.
Races under lights have no appeal for me, but USA has to be pandered to.
neiana
20th April 2022, 19:29
Oh, yes.. We must pander to Singa– I mean Abu– I mean COTA– errr
You being old and cranky should also recognize Europe holding the vast majority of the races pretty much diminishes its “World” champion status, too?
some racing fan
26th April 2022, 0:55
Formula One has been about corporate greed since the late 70s and early 80s. It’s just on overload right now. The US however is an important market that needs at least 2 races. I’m not sure if you’ve been there before but it’s a country with 330 million people of multiple different cultures in every area within a 3,000 mile (4,800 km) radius, and it has a racing and automotive manufacturing history that dates back to as far as Europe’s. And I’m sure you’re old and cranky enough to remember that from 1976 to 1984 there were 2 (3 in 1982) races every year in the US, plus the Canadian GP at Mosport and Montreal. And no, 1959 and 1960 don’t count because the Indy 500 is a race that has never been run under FIA regs.
You’re lucky. I would have loved to have gone to an F1 GP in Adelaide back in the day.
Legitimate question: do you feel the attendance figures of Adelaide ’95 were accurate? Were there really that many people there?
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
19th April 2022, 12:56
Looks like Mexico city but under sea level.
MacLeod (@macleod)
20th April 2022, 8:07
Don’t know Miami was in the Netherlands? checking my map it’s 1m above sea level….
Velocityboy (@velocityboy)
19th April 2022, 13:21
Apparently residents are going go to court to attempt to block the race from taking place. The judge can’t rule until an event permit or some such thing has been issued, as you can’t block an event that technically isn’t going to take place. So stay tuned, as I have a sneaking feeling that the residents are going to win.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-gardens/article260376842.html
some racing fan
20th April 2022, 0:54
It’s not going to stop the race from taking place. As legitimate as their concerns might be those same people will find some way to profit off the event and make a whole lot of money. But to be honest all of their claims are over-exaggerated and don’t really stand up in court.
some racing fan
20th April 2022, 0:55
*wouldn’t really stand up in court. Those same people put up with 8 NFL games (and more recently a Super Bowl) and potentially 3 post-season playoff games every year.
StefMeister (@stefmeister)
19th April 2022, 13:38
Maybe i’m wrong but i’m sure that there used to be something stating that a new circuit needed to host a race from a local category of a certain level before it would be signed off to be able to host F1.
I remember Valencia in 2008 hosting some regional F3 races I think 2-3 months before it held it’s 1st F1 race. And i’m sure I remember something about them reaching a compromise for the Korean Gp in 2010 by having Karun Chandhok run some laps in a Red Bull 2-3 weeks before the Gp (And that was considered late for a circuit to be ready at the time) as they didn’t have any local events able to run there.
StefMeister (@stefmeister)
19th April 2022, 13:42
Going back & looking at the Chandhok demo run of the Korean circuit i’d forgot just how much of a construction site it still was as he was doing those laps.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIp258UMo5s
gardenfella (@gardenfella72)
19th April 2022, 14:54
That stipulation doesn’t apply to street or temporary tracks
George Webster
21st April 2022, 21:43
You are correct about a new circuit needed to run a prior event under scrutiny before it could be licenced for an F1 event. I was at the F.Atl race that ran at Montreal two weeks prior to the first Canadian GP there.
Bob C.
19th April 2022, 15:08
When I worked in engineering, it was a universally accepted truth that getting to 95 % completion usually took about 50 % of the total time, typically because it really meant that everything was 95 % completed, and nothing was finished. Hope things have changed.