Despite the likes of Michelle Obama and James Corden walking in the paddocks, there’s one aspect of the track that’s dominated conversations.
Wilfredo Lee/AP Photo
MIAMI—Sorry Michelle Obama, James Corden and Josh Allen. Although your presence to watch the inaugural Miami Grand Prix has created a lot of buzz, fans’ attention seems to be drawn elsewhere: the fake water in the marina.
Miami International Autodrome showcases a variety of attractions that that city is known for, strategically placing them around the track to give the sport a Miami feel. One of those aspects was a marina, but there was a problem: the track, which is built in Miami Gardens and around Hard Rock Stadium, is in a land-locked neighborhood, miles away from where Formula One originally wanted to hold the race. They wanted a waterfront venue, with the circuit nestled in downtown and a bridge to the Port of Miami, the Miami Herald reported last month.
Tom Garfinkel, the Miami GP managing partner as well as the vice chairman and CEO of the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium, told Motorsport.com that they were looking at downtown Miami at first, hoping to include shots of actual yachts.
“When we moved here [to the Hard Rock stadium] 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,” Garfinkel told Motorsport.com. “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.”
Inside of Turns 6, 7 and 8, there is a fleet of yachts—10 to be exact—parked on the dry-dock marina. But they aren’t simply placed on wood. Instead, the yachts rest on 25,000 square feet of fake water, a vinyl material that makes it look like the boats are floating and has a ripple design.
And according to the Associated Press, the cost of tickets for a four-person pass to the “Yacht Club” range from $9,500 up to $38,000.
As Sports Business Journal reported, Miami organizers were trying to achieve the idea of “American version of the famed and glamorous Monaco Grand Prix.” We’ll let y’all be the judge on whether they pulled it off.
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