Rapper LL Cool J called in the riders, each one entering the track through a wall of artificial fog. An orchestra played dramatic music and will.i.am, also a rapper, waved the baton.
The start of the Miami Grand Prix was a completely unfamiliar show for Formula 1, the entire procedure immediately before the start was thrown around for this purpose – the pilots didn’t particularly like it.
“Some like the limelight, some don’t,” said world champion Max Verstappen later, “I personally don’t like it that much. I don’t think this show was necessary. I’d rather put my helmet on, get in the car and drive off, but I do I understand the entertainment value, of course. I hope we don’t do that at every race in the future.”
Formula 1: Alonso and Perez join criticism
Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez and Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso made similar statements and also pointed out another problem. “There must also be a bit of respect for the drivers,” said Perez, “we have to prepare for the race, that was just a few minutes before the start.”
Alonso, third behind Verstappen and Perez in the Miami race, is also “not a big fan of such things right before the race”, it disturbs “the preparation with the engineers and the strategy meeting”. But there shouldn’t be any special status for individual races either: “If we do something like this, then we have to do it everywhere. I don’t think the fans in Miami are better than the fans in Italy, Spain, Mexico or Japan. When in doubt, should everyone get the same show.”
The race in Miami was the first of three US races this year, this accumulation is a first on the calendar. The established Grand Prix in Austin (October 22nd) and the return to Las Vegas (November 18th) follow. The American owners of Formula 1 want to establish the racing series in the USA, and it is also their declared goal to increase the entertainment value for each individual race.