The Miami Grand Prix in favor of organizing a “double-header” with Montreal

The Miami Grand Prix continues to attract media attention. A few days after mentioning the possibility of organizing a night Grand Prix on this circuit in the coming years, the organizers of the Miami Grand Prix, led by Tyler Epp, President of South Florida Motorsports, have revealed that they have no problem organizing a “double-header” (two races taking place from one week to the next) with the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Canada. This decision would come as part of Formula 1’s efforts to meet its sustainability goals.

Formula 1 at the heart of environmental issues

Since 2018, F1 has set itself several objectives, notably that of becoming climate neutral through economic, social, and governmental actions. The main goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To achieve this, F1 has launched the Net Zero Carbon campaign aiming to halve carbon emissions by 2030 compared to 2018. According to reports published last year, the objectives set by the premier discipline of motorsport seem to be well on track for achievement, notably thanks to the reduction of travel between races with a schedule more suited to sustainability issues.

This year, notably, the calendar has been modified. The Baku Grand Prix, which took place in April last year, will be held next week to reduce the gap with the following round in Singapore. The latter took place after the Italian Grand Prix last year, a distance of more than 10,000 km. F1 also decided to swap the dates of the Qatar and Las Vegas Grand Prix to minimize travel between continents, since the last two rounds of the season will now take place in the Middle East.

In this perspective, the Japanese Grand Prix, held at the famous Suzuka circuit, has been moved forward to the beginning of the season, just after the Melbourne round. This decision helps reduce the carbon footprint, with Japan now scheduled before the Chinese Grand Prix, thereby reducing travel for Formula 1, which remains in Asia for two events. Grouping Grand Prix races by region seems to be the preferred solution, especially considering an increasingly busy calendar. However, despite the use of “double-headers” or “triple-headers” for races that are relatively close, some events are still very far apart.

The president of the Miami Grand Prix inclined to comply with the F1’s request.

This situation will happen again next year, with the Miami race following the one in Jeddah and before the start of the European Grand Prix at Imola. Speaking in the media, including Autosport, Tyler Epp, President of the Miami Grand Prix, mentioned the difficulties in changing the date and location of the race due to other events organized in the city throughout the year. « We like our place in the calendar,” he said. « We like being at the beginning of the season, the first race in the United States, and it fits well with what Las Vegas does later in the year. To be honest, our date doesn’t have much flexibility given everything we have going on. »

« American football does not end until, hopefully, late January, and we have the Miami Open [tennis tournament] scheduled, so logically, I don’t think we will move the date because of all this. » However, Tyler Epp has expressed his support for sustainability issues and indicated that he would have no problem with the Miami Grand Prix being held consecutively after the one in Canada if F1 requires it.

« It’s a broader question for F1, we can’t dictate that. We don’t have much flexibility, but we are aligned with Formula 1 and the rest of the industry on sustainability. I think they [F1] have things in the works, but our date is pretty set. We’ll only know when we see the calendar, but I wouldn’t necessarily mind. […] I’m not afraid to bring Montreal and Miami closer together, especially if it helps achieve certain sustainability goals for the sport. »

The Miami Grand Prix would thus be postponed to June because it is the only period when the Canadian Grand Prix can take place. This approach shows the willingness of the discipline and circuit promoters to implement solutions to reduce the carbon footprint and make this sport more sustainable and ecological, in order to achieve the goals set for 2030.