F1 News: Miami GP Welcomes Night Race Whilst Snubbing Sprint Race Weekend

Miami GP President Tyler Epp has spoken about the possibility of a Miami night race.

Conversations regarding the potential transformation of the Miami Grand Prix into a night race have been initiated, but according to Miami GP President Tyler Epp, fans shouldn't hold their breath for such a change to occur before 2024. 

The race joined the F1 calendar in 2022 and is held at the Miami International Autodrome, a temporary circuit built around the Miami Dolphins' home venue, the Hard Rock Stadium. It stands as the second US addition to the F1 circuit following the debut of the Circuit of the Americas a decade prior, and the Las Vegas Grand Prix set to join later in the year.

However, turning the Miami Grand Prix into a night event is a complex undertaking. The Autodrome currently lacks the necessary lighting infrastructure for night racing, and finding an appropriate timeslot for global audiences presents an additional challenge. Tyler Epp noted, as quoted by PlanetF1.com:

“We’ve talked about: ‘Could we do this? Does this make sense?’

“We didn’t really get too deep into the analysis because at some point, it’s, why are you doing it? Like, let’s make sure there’s a justifiable reason.

“[It’s] very unlikely we would do it for 2024. We will continue to evaluate. We’re always looking at ways to make the experience better.

“If we get to the place where Formula 1 says ‘this really does work for us from a broadcast perspective’, and this makes a lot of sense, certainly we’ll take a look at it.”

If the Miami race does shift to a night event, it would join the ranks of Singapore, Las Vegas, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. Despite this, Epp is confident that the Miami brand will maintain its identity regardless of the time of day the race is held. He said:

“Miami is our brand, and we try to bring that out with the circuit.

“Vegas will be a night race as well. Singapore certainly has their spot on the calendar. I can’t tell you what their decisions are and why they are. For us, we’re pretty committed to being Miami, day or night.

“We’re always interested in a sprint race.

“But I would also tell you that qualifying was really valuable for us. We see a lot of value in the qualification experience in F1. There are a ton of our fans who have given us great feedback about traditional quali.

“We’re here to support, and if we have an opportunity to host a sprint race at some point, we’ll welcome that. But it’s not something we’re actively pursuing.”