Miami Grand Prix president ‘not in favour’ of fourth US race in F1 calendar
The sport’s popularity in the United States has surged in recent years.
The president of the Miami Grand Prix says Formula One does not need any more races in the United States.
Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium will on Sunday play host to the first of three events in the US this season.
The Miami Grand Prix was added to the calendar in 2022, with Las Vegas joining the schedule the following season. Austin’s Circuit of the Americas has been a permanent fixture in F1 since 2012.
F1’s popularity in the US has surged in recent years – partly due to the impact of Netflix’s Drive to Survive documentary series – while Cadillac, a division of American motoring giant General Motors, will become the sport’s 11th team next year.
But speaking to the PA news agency ahead of Sunday’s race in Florida, Miami GP president Tyler Epp said: “We would certainly not be in favour of a fourth race (in the United States).
“I am not worried about the detraction from our event. But we need to stabilise some of these new races.
“We are very respectful of the history of Formula One before the Miami Grand Prix existed, and we have tried to be very humble with that. And now we have got two of the three races in the States both being what I would consider to be very new races.
“Hopefully we have established ourselves here in Miami as one that is here to stay. And we will continue to invest with F1, the FIA, and the sport.”
A record-equalling 24 rounds will again be contested this season, but it is understood F1’s American owner, Liberty Media, has no plans to expand the schedule in the US.
The Las Vegas Grand Prix, which takes place later in the year, is staged under the lights, and it has been mooted that the Miami race could also transform into a night event.
But Epp added: “It comes up every year. I can tell you that we have an internal discussion about it, and there are folks that sit around our table who are very adamant that is the right thing to do.
“But we are not there today, and there are no plans for the race in 2026 to be a night event.”
Last year, Donald Trump, then running to become US President for a second time, was at the race in Miami to see Lando Norris land his first win. But it is not expected that he will be in attendance this weekend.
Heading into the fifth round of the new season, Oscar Piastri holds a 10-point championship lead over McLaren team-mate Norris.
