8 replies to this topic

[MikeTekRacing]

i got tickets for me and my wife for the Miami race - is anybody from here going there too?

[MikeTekRacing]

so, will anyone from here be there? 

[Gareth]

Hi Mike - I wasn't there (tried to get tickets, failed), but am definitely considering doing it next year.

 

How did you find the experience? Any tips on where to sit, stay etc?

[MikeTekRacing]

Hi Gareth - we are still travelling this week - once back home I will write all fhe details
It was a great experience

[Gareth]

Glad you enjoyed it! Have fun with the rest of the travels and look forward to hearing about it.

[MikeTekRacing]

So, some details 
We stayed in T11 - which is the end of the long DRS zone - you'll see a lot of action there, but there's a bridge that passes over the track that kind of covers the straight, so you "suddenly" see cars coming and braking. You can stay very low in there and see everything under the bridge, or very high and see above the bridge. I'd suggest very high (like the last rows) since those are going to be covered, in shade - the humidity and heat were horrible, especially on Fri.

They were allowing people to move a lot through the grandstands, so we tried experience some more. There is a grand stand in turn 10 ("turn" is actually a straight) where we sat at various points in practice and Q to see the speed. totally different feeling, you get to experience cars full blast a few meters away from you.

You can also walk to experience other parts too - again, they were very flexible with allowing people to go in other grand stands, so use the weekend to enjoy the track.

Getting to the circuit was really good. Parked in a special area some 10 miles away (i think about 60 per day) with LOTS of shuttles that were continuously commuting.A comment about parking - they never actually checked if we paid for it. It was a big parking lot, entered there and went to the buses. No QR checked for parking on any day.

They have a great phone app where they will give you personalized directions (even directly in Waze) how to get to a specific entrance, or parking lot. 

Facilities were great, with lots of food and drink options, but really expensive. You'll have anything you need though.

I'd suggest you arrive when gates open and use the time to explore everything around. There is an F1 Fan campus with some fun activities (simulator, pit stop experience, podium pictures etc), a lot of team facilities (you need invites for those), lots of places to hang out.

 

plan you visit based on the schedule that's in the app - to know when to eat, between action on track etc. We managed to do everything we wanted, but had the days planned in advance.

 

On Sat, before FP3, there was a driver autograph session in the football stadium. Not very advertised, there were signs in the stadium (so make sure you walk it). Stood about 1hr in line before (me and my wife were first in line for Checo and Max), different drivers might be at different hours - so check with local volunteers.

 

a shout out to all employees and volunteers - they were super friendly, welcoming people at the track with a huge round of applause in the morning, wishing everyone a good time, lots of advice whenever you needed directions or anything  very nice feeling.

 

In terms of staying, we picked an Airbnb in Miami which was really nice and good price and value (I can share via a message) and the drive to the parking lot in the morning was about 20-25 min. Getting back was always tough - 40min-1hr, but traffic everywhere was horrific.

I can share pictures and videos from the grandstands if you want to see before you buy what angles will be better for you.

Edited by MikeTekRacing, 17 May 2022 - 00:30.

[Gareth]

Amazing write up, thanks so much.

 

Ok if I pop a link to this in the race thread too? I bet loads of people would love to read it.

 

Will drop you a line re pics and airbnb - although feel free to drop any pics in here of course!

 

So glad you had such a good trip, sounds fantastic.

[MikeTekRacing]

I'll add the airbnb and pics here - of course I don't mind if you add in the race thread

 

Thanks, I hope you have a fantastic experience when you go too

[Dan333SP]

Good write up. I'm from Miami but couldn't get tickets, one of my friends from home was at the same grandstand as you and shared many of your thoughts on the experience. Seems like my fears that the shuttles and general trackside experience would be a disaster were completely unfounded and the organization should be applauded for a successful event. Track could be improved, of course, but the event itself seems like it's worth a trip home next year.