Latest news with #Formula1PromoteroftheYear
Forbes
02-05-2025
- Automotive
- Forbes
Tom Garfinkel On Managing The Miami Grand Prix, Dolphins, World Cup And More
Lando Norris pilots his McLaren around the Miami Grand Prix circuit. (Photo by Rudy ...) With a new 10-year extension announced for the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, events hosted in and around Hard Rock Stadium are nearly non-stop. Managing it all is a testament to the Miami Dolphins organization. Formula 1 and South Florida Motorsports, a subsidiary of the Miami Dolphins, announced the extension of the Miami Grand Prix that will see the race on the calendar until at least 2041. It's a significant achievement and speaks to how well the event has been hosted. Last year South Florida Motorsports was named 2024 Formula 1 Promoter of the Year. The Miami Grand Prix is just one of many events hosted at Hard Rock Stadium. But the level of detail put into the F1 race and others speaks to a high level of coordination. Tom Garfinkel, who is Managing Partner of the Miami Grand Prix, as well as Vice Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium, has had a full plate, not only with the F1 event, but also with other aspects of the Miami Dolphins and events at the Hard Rock Stadium. The Miami Grand Prix is still very young, so the event's progression each year has been significant. The Miami race was added to the F1 calendar starting in 2022. 'In year one, we were just trying to pull it off in 11 months in a post-pandemic world to get it launched,' said Garfinkel in an exclusive interview for Forbes. 'Year two was really focused on improvements, with the new Paddock Club building, putting the team hospitality paddock on the field, repaving the racetrack, investing in wider pedestrian bridges, etc. Year three was what I call refinement. And I would say now, in year four, we continue to not redefine, but refine how we do things. We're very customer-centric, and try to listen to the customers, adjust, and try to get better every year.' The Miami Grand Prix F1 circuit runs around Hard Rock Stadium, which gets heavily utilized for the event. The facility hosts the NFL Miami Dolphins, as well as the NCAA's Miami Hurricanes regularly, and as Forbes profiled in 2024, the Orange Bowl was Jan. 9, one of the College Football Playoff's semifinals, the 265-acre site will transform as the regular home to one of the largest tennis tournaments on the sport's calendar, hosting the Miami Open each spring since 2019. To add, the World Cup arrives in 2026. Garfinkel said doing it all is a 'big lift' with a sizable staff. We just had the college football semi. We have our Miami Open Tennis. Then we transition into this year's F1 Miami Grand Prix,' Garfinkel said. 'We've got eight or nine concerts this summer. We've got the Club World Cup. We then go back into Miami Hurricanes football and Dolphins football. Then we have the national championship game, tennis, the Formula One race, and the FIFA World Cup next summer. So, a lot is happening here, and many transitions are happening. It takes a lot of people and a lot of planning.' With the F1 Miami Grand Prix extension now announced, how the event continues to evolve will be what Garfinkel and the team that supports Hard Rock Stadium will add to their list. 'We take our responsibility to help Formula One grow the sport in the United States seriously,' Garfinkel said. 'I think having the extension secures that this event can be part of that for a long time, and it enables us to continue to invest in the event in ways that hopefully are innovative and additive to the fan experience and to the sport itself. We have kind of an ethos here to try to do things a little differently, to try to innovate, to try to create. Hopefully, we've done that, and now we can invest in trying to continue to do that moving forward.'
Miami Herald
02-05-2025
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
There will be a Miami Grand Prix until at least 2041, Formula 1 announces.
The auto racing event downtown Miami residents didn't want around their condos and Miami Gardens residents initially fought now is the longest contracted event on the Formula 1 schedule. Formula 1 and Miami Grand Prix promoters South Florida Motorsports tacked another 10 years onto their current agreement, extended it to 2041. The two sides, represented by Formula 1 President Stefano Domenicali and South Florida Motorsports CEO Tom Garfinkel, announced the deal Friday. About 15 minutes later, practice began for the fourth Miami Grand Prix. READ MORE: Formula 1's back for the Miami Grand Prix with a makeover that began here 'In just three years, the Miami Grand Prix has established itself as one of the most important and spectacular events on our calendar, an extraordinary example of quality and vision that truly represents the spirit and ambition of Formula 1 in the United States,' Dominicalli said. Running 20 races, 2022-2041, at the Miami International Autodrome at Hard Rock Stadium would equal the longest continuous F1 run at a U.S. facility, a longevity standard set by Watkins Glen International from 1961 to 1980. It's easily the longest run for F1 at a track that's not a purpose-built racing facility. Partnerships with nearby schools and including Miami Gardens' restaurants and caterers among the food selections on the racing grounds helped relationships with residents who initially felt the race's congestion and noise were being forced upon them against their will by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross. (Also helping matters: this generation of Formula 1 cars simply aren't that loud). READ MORE: Formula 1 drivers love Miami. Except for one thing locals hate, too The series named South Florida Motorsports 2024 Formula 1 Promoter of the Year in recognition of its annual upgrading of the fan experience. 'Securing a 10-year extension with Formula 1 through 2041 is an extraordinary milestone for all of us at South Florida Motorsports and a true testament to the hard work of our team, the strength of our partnerships, the support of our community and the growth of the sport in the United States,' Garfinkel said. 'To have been granted this extension after only our third event speaks to what we have felt from the very beginning — the Miami Grand Prix is here to stay.'
