At the F1 Miami Grand Prix, women take lead in the jobs that make the race happen
For the Miami Grand Prix, someone is in charge of all the strategic planning and the budget. Someone else oversees the construction of 163 temporary buildings needed for a Formula One race weekend. Someone else designs the seating areas and keeps track of food and drink needs. Someone else makes sure that the rich and famous have everything they need and want, from the right drink to the right kind of throw pillow.
Advertisement
These jobs make the race happen. And in Miami, they are all being done by women.
It is something that the Miami Grand Prix believes sets its race apart. In a sport and a circuit still dominated by males it will be difficult this weekend to find an element of the event that is not overseen by a woman.
There are men on the masthead for the race's local overseers: Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross owns the race, Tom Garfinkel is the managing partner and Tyler Epp is president of the race, which takes place at the Dolphins' Hard Rock Stadium campus. From there, many other top Miami roles are held by women, including:
Katharina Nowak, only 28, reports to Epp as the race's second-in-command and oversees all strategic plans, the budget and 17 internal departments.
Natalie Clark is the senior director of event operations, overseeing the process of building, loading in and loading out.
Sydney McClain is the senior director of events and food and drink, meaning she creates virtually the entire fan experience on the 250-acre campus.
Melanie Cabassol is vice-president of hospitality and curated experiences, meaning she creates the atmosphere for premium clients – a list that in past years has included the likes of LeBron James, Patrick Mahomes, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk was among the guests at the Miami Grand Prix in 2023. Photo: USA TODAY Sports
The women leading the Miami race are not alone in their fields. At F1, the chief commercial officer is Emily Prazer and, until late last year, Sacha Woodward Hill had been there for almost 30 years as the chief legal officer.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTHK
a day ago
- RTHK
Madrid streets to make debut in next F1 season
Madrid streets to make debut in next F1 season The Shanghai leg of the Formula One season is set for March. File photo: NurPhoto/AFP Formula One will have two races in Spain next season with Madrid's new street circuit making its debut in September and Italy's Imola dropping off the 24-round calendar, F1 and the governing FIA announced on Tuesday. Melbourne's Australian Grand Prix will again be the season-opener on March 8 with Shanghai hosting round two a week later, as the sport enters a new engine era with Cadillac also arriving as an 11th team. Japan will be round three as a standalone event on March 29. Monaco will be the first European round on June 7, swapping dates with Canada, whose race in Montreal moves to May 24 and follows Miami on May 3. Canada, which clashes with the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race this year, is now set to overlap instead with the Indianapolis 500. Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya, which is entering the final year of its current contract and will no longer be designated the Spanish Grand Prix, is scheduled for June 14. Madrid's Madring, a part-street layout around the city's Ifema exhibition centre, will be the last race in Europe on September 13 and the weekend after the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. The Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, due to drop off the calendar after 2026, will be held on August 23 as a sprint weekend. The season will end in Abu Dhabi on December 6, immediately after Qatar. "We are excited to welcome Madrid to the calendar, and to see huge automotive brands like Audi, Cadillac and Ford join the Formula One grid," said Formula One chief executive Stefano Domenicali in a statement. Swiss-based Sauber will become the Audi works team in 2026 while Ford are partnering with Red Bull. Formula One will also have 100 percent sustainable fuel. Bahrain and Saudi Arabia will again be held on successive weekends in April due to Ramadan taking place in February and March. The calendar has been organised to create more of a geographical flow, which Formula One said would deliver significant freight efficiencies and help the sport's sustainability push. There will be a total of six back-to-back race weekends, with two triple headers of three in a row starting with Austin, Mexico and Brazil and ending with Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. (Reuters)
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Style Edit: H. Moser & Cie and Alpine Motorsports expand their collaboration with the debut of 2 new racing watches, inspired by drivers and mechanics, at the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona
Watch collabs with car brands often follow a familiar formula: logo swaps, the use of fancy materials, and maybe the addition of a racing stripe for drama. But trust H. Moser & Cie to opt for an unusual strategy as it heads for the pits. When the indie Swiss watchmaker teamed up with Alpine Motorsports in 2024, it wasn't about hype – it was about purpose. Now, they're continuing that legacy with a thrilling duo of high-functioning timepieces that fuse racing adrenaline with haute horology genius. Alpine Formula One driver Pierre Gasly (right) offers input into the creation of H. Moser & Cie's Streamliner Alpine Drivers Edition watch. Photo: Handout First up is the Streamliner Alpine Drivers Edition, designed with input from Alpine's Formula One drivers. This mechanical marvel is powered by the HMC 700, a skeletonised version of the Agenhor AgenGraphe movement, a world-class engine for a wrist-bound speed machine. The open-worked dial lets you peek at the movement's gears, while V-shaped bridges nod to single-seater suspensions and the central bridge is shaped like a racing helmet. Blue and white accents echo Alpine's signature livery. No subdials here – just a clean central chrono display with a flyback function, because in both racing and life, time waits for no one. Advertisement The new Streamliner Alpine Mechanics Edition was developed specifically for the needs of the racing team's mechanics and engineers. Photo: Handout But the real plot twist in this pairing? The Streamliner Alpine Mechanics Edition. It's not for grandstand fans or pitlane selfies – it's for the team behind the on-track action. More than just a good-looking piece of arm candy, this is a purpose-built digital-analogue hybrid designed to work for the mechanics, engineers, and everyone in the pitlanes and factories who toil behind the scenes for racing glory. On standby mode, the dial is simply a sleek black screen. But once activated, it delivers essential info primed for making the instant decisions that define Formula One: GMT with country selector, split-seconds chronograph, perpetual calendar, and an exclusive race mode offering countdowns to lights out and key updates on on-track action. Think smartwatch, but with an old-school heartbeat: a funky blue fumé dial with analogue time display and a transparent Moser logo. It syncs with Android and iOS, has a jaw-dropping battery life (one year in basic mode, six Grand Prix weekends in full mode), and it's all housed in a sturdy casing made to survive the chaos of the paddock. In motor racing, every second counts. Photo: Handout The watches are sold as a pair and limited to just 200 sets – but the Mechanics Edition is also available separately for select owners of Moser's 2024 Streamliner Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton Alpine. Moser and Alpine have just changed the game. This isn't just another collaboration. It's a statement of style, speed and precision engineering.
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- South China Morning Post
How BYD and Chinese peers are transforming Europe's small EV market
Some of the world's biggest carmakers are squaring off for a titanic battle over small cars in Europe, as native stalwarts like Volkswagen and Renault fight to maintain their hold on the market against an influx of cheap electric vehicles (EVs) from BYD and its Chinese peers. Last month, BYD , which surpassed Tesla last year as the world's largest EV maker, launched its Dolphin Surf compact hatchback in Europe. The company's most affordable model, known in China as the Seagull, is priced from €22,990 (US$26,128) with a 322km range to €24,990 with a 507km range. A promotion this month lowers the starting price to €19,990. The compact segment was 'the next frontier for electrification in Europe' and had huge potential, said Maria Grazia DaVino, BYD's regional managing director for Europe, at a launch event in Berlin. 'It's a declaration of intentions from BYD that it is exploring the small car segment [in Europe],' said Felipe Munoz, senior analyst at Jato Dynamics. 'It is a very competitive car, and can also shake the small car segment because of its price.' 03:30 Global carmakers cede world's largest auto show to Chinese EVs Global carmakers cede world's largest auto show to Chinese EVs The car's introduction represents a big opportunity for European consumers to 'finally' benefit from a competitive product, he said. 'But it's also an alarm for the European carmakers, which have been struggling to come up with really competitive small cars.'
