Inside Miami Grand Prix’s formula for celebrity and spectacle

When the Miami Grand Prix was added to the Formula 1 calendar on a 10-year contract, F1 purists were skeptical. The race represented everything that they had resisted for years: glitz, extravagance, and an overtly American spectacle. But Miami quickly cemented itself as a marquee event, not just by delivering solid on-track action – but by winning over fans. At the center of its success is Hard Rock Stadium, a venue that has evolved from a traditional NFL stronghold to a year-round hub for major global events — and F1 is at the heart of that transformation. 

“No one needs this … but we’re in the business of memory making,” says Tyler Epp, President of the Miami Grand Prix, while chatting at a Dolphins home game last December. We’re talking about the pomp and circumstance surrounding sporting events at the stadium, including the exclusive Members Lounge we’re standing in which transforms into the ultra-luxurious F1 Paddock Club each May. I suspect what he’s actually telling me is that Miami must create extraordinary experiences to keep customers coming back, especially when competing with two other races on American soil.

Epp credits much of the Miami Grand Prix’s quick success to the Dolphins organization and its nearly four decades of experience hosting NFL games. “When we started this three years ago, we were already halfway there. We have these super marketing people, sales people and a lot of other resources, so we should deliver the best Grand Prix on the calendar,” he explains. “The ability to lean on shared services has been a real benefit, but we’ve also had our challenges. We have to build entire grandstands and hospitality venues, and all of our plumbing and power [outside the stadium] is temporary … not to mention, making sure that the grounds don’t ever feel like a parking lot, which has been the mission that Tom Garfinkel [CEO of the Dolphins] talked about from day one.”

Lando Norris celebrates on the podium at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Today, the organization operates as a cohesive unit, with the football side of the business even drawing lessons from F1. Campus operations during Dolphins game days, for instance, are now modeled on logistical successes from the Miami Grand Prix. “We’ve turned into a year-round mega events business,” Epp says. “We start planning the Grand Prix layout in August [the year before] and that’s finalized in November or December. But from a publicity perspective we can’t ever make it look like we’re not planning for a Dolphins championship home game,” he explains. “We always have to assume that the team will be playing in the stadium that weekend, but if the best case scenario doesn’t happen, we have to be nimble enough to move up our timelines.” 

Epp also has the benefit of almost a decade immersed in the football world, having worked at the Kansas City Chiefs before moving to Florida. “We’ve been very intentional about never prioritizing F1 over football. But we also understand what a huge opportunity we have, because we’ve now got a sports entertainment business,” he says. Miami’s natural allure as a playground for the rich and famous has been another stroke of good fortune for the team, as countless A-listers have stepped foot in the paddock over the past few years. “There have been some celebrities that no one even knows were here,” Epp says coyly when I ask about rumors that Beyonce and Jay-Z secretly attended the race in 2022. Others have been ultra low key. “Michelle Obama wanted to come and was a guest of Lewis. She showed up right on time, got to experience a session, and was in and out very, very quietly,” he explains. “Then there’s the C-list celebrities who just want to be here because they love racing, but sometimes those people are [the most valuable] because they’ll talk so graciously about the experience, and they still have influence over millions of people online.” 

Venus and Serena Williams on the grid

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Handling high-profile guests is an art in itself. If, say, Taylor Swift (whose boyfriend, Travis Kelce, is an investor in Alpine Racing) wanted to attend the race, the process is carefully orchestrated. “The first check is always with F1 to make sure they know about it and we’re all aligned,” Epp explains, noting that “the worst situation is when an agent and a manager are talking to two different parties and playing us against each other.” The second call would be to Swift’s management team. “That’s when we really understand what experience she’s looking for. If she’s bringing her entire family and it’s a big celebration they’re having together, then we’re going to charge you. But if you’re just coming because you want to see the race, which is a great benefit [to us], there’s no charge,” he says. 

The VIP experience extends well beyond the stadium, all the way out to the highway. “About five years ago [Dolphins owner] Stephen Ross and Tom introduced a Black Card Express Lane off the Turnpike that you can only drive on with a special pass and takes you right into our luxury parking lot,” Epp says. “You don’t have any interaction with the general population from the time you leave your hotel to the time you get to your seat. It’s all very protected and private … the most important thing is that they’re in an environment where they’re comfortable amongst peers and don’t feel like they’re being looked at.” 

Of course, not every guest craves discretion. “There are definitely two types of celebrities: there’s also the person that really wants to make sure that they’re seen, and that’s fine, too. We have a different program for that where we can parade you through the paddock and make sure you’re there on the grid.” The way Epp sees it, there’s a give and take: “We treat them like any other customer, but there’s a lot of value there [for us] so it’s just a question of, ‘What do we need to do to make this work?’” 

Managing VIPs isn’t without its challenges, however. The issue that immediately comes to mind for Epp involves guests arriving with a much larger entourage than expected. “Everyone is trailed by a videographer now … even CEOs,” he says. Though it might not seem like a major issue, arriving at the paddock gates with five extra people who don’t have passes can cause some serious headaches in a sport obsessed with red tape. 

Donald Trump and Zak Brown

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

Personal security is another critical issue, which came to a head when Donald Trump attended the 2024 Miami Grand Prix and wreaked havoc in the paddock. “Operating this race is extremely difficult from a security standpoint because of all the doors, nooks, crannies and caverns. In that stadium, there are secret hallways that only our guys know, so in the first year, paddock security was not good,” Epp admits. Before Trump’s visit, the Secret Service spent 10 days surveying the venue, however they still ordered major shutdowns in areas of the paddock just a few hours before the race kicked off. “The Secret Service blocked off the walkway in the middle of the paddock for 20 minutes, and the teams were losing it because they were like, ‘I have to cross,’” he recalls. “But speaking completely apolitically, it’s great to have that type of celebrity on the grid. We’re fairly disciplined on not aligning our organization with any political figure — we treat everybody the same, because we want to show that we understand exactly what you need for your visit. Taylor’s going to need different things than Trump needed, and different things than a CEO needs, but we have the ability to execute all of it.”

I ask whether there were any learnings from the Trump visit, but Epp isn’t sure how much would change should the now-President choose to attend the race again this year. “When you’re dealing with world leaders and governmental security, there’s only so much you can do. We just had to try to make the best decisions that we possibly could in the moment … we can’t tell them no, and we never would,” he says. 

Haas team members visit the Miami Dolphins NFL team training ground.

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

When I attended the inaugural Miami Grand Prix in 2022, I wrote that the hottest place to see and be seen was a small access road behind the Hard Rock Stadium. In the years since, the F1 paddock has extended beyond that access road to include hospitality structures on the football field and the purpose-built Paddock Club building. But Hard Rock Stadium isn’t just an F1 venue for one week of the year — it’s evolving into something much more integrated. 

“We’re still finding our way, and maybe we’ll be having a different conversation in 18 months, but the beauty of it is that it gets to be customer focused,” Epp tells me. The garages are rebranded as the MIA Garage Tailgate post-F1 and are available to rent for pre-game BBQs. Meanwhile, the Paddock Club structure, which connects to the main stadium via a skybridge, has hosted wedding receptions and serves as a lounge for Dolphins members on game day. “We bumped our heads a little bit trying to figure out exactly what the offering was, but we feel like we’ve found a really nice sweet spot,” Epp says of the lounge. “This is not the Paddock Club. This is meant to be a place for passionate fans to get away and relax before the game.”

Ultimately, it all comes down to delivering experiences that last. “We service everybody from the person who saves all their money for one game that they take their kids to every year to [ultra high net worth] individuals, and we have to be able to do that both in the football business and in F1,” Epp says. In a crowded F1 landscape, he’s confident that his team has a unique proposition. “We’re in the memory making business at the end of the day, and we’re trying to create an environment to make special memories that will last a lifetime. That’s our goal.”