With FIA officials unable to pin down the Miami Grand Prix for 2019, F1 owner Liberty Media has decided to delay the race, rather than keep it on the calendar with a provisional status and then ditch it.
One of the issues is opposition from local residents, which in turn forced a City Commission meeting which was supposed to take place this week, to be postponed until September.
Another problem is deciding on a final location. F1 wants to use just the prime Bayfront Park and Museum Park areas, plus the associated Marina. However, if permission is withdrawn to use that location, it’s possible the race won’t happen at all – at least not without a suitable/prestigious alternative site, reports Autosport.
“In the last few months we have worked diligently alongside our promoter Stephen Ross of RSE Ventures, the City of Miami and Miami Dade County, to realise our ambition to bring a Formula 1 Grand Prix to Miami,” stated F1 commercial boss Sean Bratches. “And we have made significant progress. However, these are complicated negotiations.”
“Whilst our preference would have been to race in Miami in 2019, there was always a point by which delivering the best possible wheel-to-wheel racing experience for our fans, drivers and teams wouldn’t be possible in the time available. We have now reached that point as far as racing in Miami in 2019 is concerned.”
“However, we are taking a long-term view and as a result, we have decided, in consultation with the Miami authorities, to postpone sign-off until later in the summer, with the aim of running the first Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix in the 2020 season.”
If everything goes as planned for 2020, then the Miami race would become the second F1 Grand Prix to be held in the United States, joining the race at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.