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Going full tilt at the first-ever Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix

- By Nicolas Stecher

“I really enjoy coming to Miami. Even on my off-season and holidays we’re here as well, so for me it’s really cool to be here in the first place,” Max Verstappen tells me a couple days before he’ll strap on his helmet to compete in the 2022 Miami Grand Prix. It’s only a couple days before the city’s inaugural F1 race, and the reigning World Champion remains cool and relaxed. “To race is always very special, so it’s good to have the race here in Miami,” he continues, dressed in head-to-toe in his team Red Bull Racing gear for the interview. “And also we’re looking forward to Vegas next year and we’ll then have three American Grand Prix in three completely different states. That’s going to be really nice.”

Just one night before our conversation this whole F1 spectacle lights the fuse like fireworks, with Heineken’s Opening Party at the Miami International Autodrome putting the entire city on check. Reams of racing fanatics stream to Miami Gardens to check out the course—built in the parking lot wrapping around the Dolphins’ Hard Rock Stadium—and watch Kygo perform under vast LED screens. Thousands assemble on the stadium’s south side cheering the Norwegian trop-house pioneer as Joe Jonas climbs onstage to perform their collaboration ‘DNCE,’ followed by Brazilian bombshell Anitta strutting her sultry take on Latin pop. As the rowdy crowd shimmied around us, we seated on thick-cut steaks from the VIP McLaren hosting station.