Chris Perkins: Miami Grand Prix avoids rain but not smaller crowd at fifth running, which fans deem a success

Toro, who has attended F1 races in Austin and Italy, is impressed by the Miami Grand Prix.

“It actually has been improving,” he said. “Last year, I came only for the races and I was like, ‘I should have come for the whole event.’ ”

Everyone was relieved the anticipated rains never came during Sunday’s F1 race.

But the weather still had an influence on the day.

The Porsche Cup race was canceled to move up F1 start time, and the McLaren Trophy race was canceled due to early-morning rains.

A couple of things made this race highly anticipated.

This was the first F1 race since Suzuka (Japan) on March 29, which was won by Antonelli, the championship leader and the season’s dominant team entering the Miami Grand Prix. The past two scheduled events, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, were canceled due to the Iran war. And the Miami Grand Prix was run with both the 2026 F1 rule changes and amendments to those changes.

It’s unclear if weather affected the star power.

Among the stars at the race were soccer icon Lionel Messi of InterMiami, Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat, former tennis superstar Rafael Nadal, entertainer Jimmy Fallon, golfer Jon Rahm and influencer/social media star Alix Earle.

Kimi Antonelli wins the Miami Grand Prix for his third straight F1 victory

Weather extremes and attendance swings were undeniably part of the story at the Miami Grand Prix this year.

On Friday, there were an unusually high number of heat-related issues. Fortunately for fans, Friday marked the debut of the passenger buses stationed around the campus that serve as a “Cool Down Zone” came in handy. Fans could simply go into the bus, relax while sitting in the air conditioning, and hydrate.

The “Cool Down Zone” was among numerous tweaks and changes at the Miami Grand Prix campus.

For example, the Lighthouse Lounge, located between Turns 6 and 8, was among the most exciting new areas because it’s accessible to anyone and provides great views during the races. Previously, this area was reserved for high rollers. It’s where the yachts parked on the fake water.

Sight lines were improved in a few areas and public viewing areas added in others. There was now a Turn 10 viewing area where fans can get pretty close to the track and experience the deafening sound and body-tingling sensation of cars zooming by at more than 100 miles per hour.

The growth and reach of the Miami Grand Prix and F1 racing was never more apparent than Friday, when the place was packed.

This year’s Friday crowd seemed to check more boxes than ever. More Black fans than the previous two years. More older fans (Miami Grand Prix’s Friday crowds have skewed younger recently). More fans wearing F1 gear.

Marshna Spavento of Naples and Dana Harris of Pompano, a pair of Black women, had similar observations. And more.

“I see more women,” Spavento said, adding she’d like to see more F1 merchandise made for women.

Spavento and Harris are big-time Miami Grand Prix fans. They’ve been to all five. Spavento’s husband introduced them to the sport around 2020.

And they’ve done the Miami Grand Prix many ways. Campus pass. Yacht Club. Podium Club. Stadium Club. They’ve enjoyed each experience.

Earlier Friday, there was a true testament to the reach of the Miami Grand Prix.

“On our way to our seats we saw a bachelorette party,” Harris said.

“And they were sistahs!” Spavento added.

Indeed, the Miami Grand Prix and F1 are still attracting new fans.

Jeff Giaimo traveled with his son, Ami Strickland, from Deltona, to attend Sunday’s race as a high school graduation present. They got to parking lot No. 34 at 6:30 a.m. to see the day’s rain-altered events.

“I’m soaked,” Giaimo said around 10 a.m., when the rain had stopped for a while.

They were both wearing plastic rain slickers. Strickland, a Ferrari fan, just started following F1 this year and this is their first Miami Grand Prix.

In another sign of wide-ranging reach, this time in the community, the F1 Miami Grand Prix Helmet Program matched five artists with STEAM programs (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) from local schools to create a racing helmet. The helmets were displayed on the Miami Grand Prix campus.

“It means a lot to me,” Carol City senior Lanyla Conley said of the helmet. “It’s like I feel important. I feel like I’ve accomplished something.”

The Miami Grand Prix organizers, who thrived despite the threat of rain and, anecdotally, lower attendance, could say the same thing.