The debut of Formula 1 in Florida’s most famous city was a great example of what a large majority of Americans call “sports entertainment”, with numerous elements related to the show outside of sports competition, such as the yacht area in the false port, many celebrity guests or the presence of football helmets on the podium.
Leaving all of the above aside, the 2022 Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix left a lot to be desired in terms of the action on the track, especially after the expectations that were created as a result of the first free practice sessions, where accidents and the errors of the pilots in some areas of the line took center stage.
However, during qualifying and the race, with the exception of a safety car caused by an accident involving Lando Norris, everything went completely normally, without major shocks and with a notable absence of overtaking and battles at the front of the classification .
Due to this, there were many who felt that this approach to grand prix was not linked to the traditions of the category and, one of the most critical, was once again Bernie Ecclestone , the veteran and former boss of motorsport’s top category.
“They did an American-style Formula 1. It’s probably entertaining for them, because there are a lot of stupid shows in America, and everybody likes them. But I would organize everything completely differently,” the 91-year-old British veteran told Bloomberg .
These comments reached the headquarters of Liberty Media , current owners of Formula 1, and they did not hesitate to respond immediately and harshly.
” Bernie [Ecclestone] can say whatever he wants,” CEO Greg Maffei said. “But the reality is that this is what everyone wants to see right now.”
Another of the issues that created the most controversy during the Miami GP is the fact that the top managers of the event had to resurface the surface several times, it already suffered damage in some area even before the cars went out to roll on Friday for the morning.
This, added to all the criticism from the drivers regarding the track and asphalt conditions throughout the weekend, has already caused the organizers to accept the fact that they will have to modify some things before returning to the calendar of the F1 of 2023, since the main spectacle in a Formula 1 weekend, must be the races and the action on the track, not everything that happens off the track.
