F1 – Best Ways You Can Attend The Inaugural Miami Grand Prix Formula One Race

Formula One racing (F1) is one of the most popular sports on earth, and interest in this country has been driven up recently by the popular Netflix series Formula 1: Drive to Survive.

But until now, the United States has hosted just one annual F1 race, the US Grand Prix in October at the purpose-built Circuit of the Americas outside Austin, TX. That’s why the addition of not one one but two all new F1 races here is a very big deal in the world of sports.

This year the domestic field doubles with the addition of a Miami race (May 6-8), and next year it will triple with the debut of the Las Vegas F1, also a recurring annual event. With the incredible capacity for over-the-top entertaining, tons of public viewing spots, the race being held at night on the iconic Las Vegas Strip, and the proven wild popularity of the city’s magnetic appeal for sports tourism, the Nevada edition will likely emerge as the most popular for traveling spectators, but that is still a year and half off. Miami meanwhile is revving up for its big debut race, with the Formula One Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix just two short weeks away, and the race is already sold out.

But not quite.

While there are no more regular tickets left for sale, a handful of luxury hotels are offering packages that include tickets – and a lot more. Pretty much every top hotel in Miami has jacked its rates during the race, especially for coveted penthouses, but very few actually include anything more than the room. There are a couple of exceptions, however, and in addition, one more turnkey way to combine race access with a wide array of hotels at all price points. One caveat is that these were advertised as available at the time I wrote this, but given the short time frame, that may change fast. There is also a full slate of other accessible public events built around the race itself – even if you don’t have tickets – including Fan Fest, Miami Speed Week and other assorted hoopla, all of which you can read about here.

Just for background, the race is a very big deal here, and an all-new course was constructed in the parking lots around Hard Rock Stadium, including a “marina” meant to echo the feel of the world’s premier Formula One race and a top tier “Bucket List” sporting event, the Monaco Grand Prix, which many very rich spectators attend by watching from their yachts. The new track has 19 turns and 11 grandstands.

These are the packages I’ve found. In addition, if you have a lot of points in Bonvoy, the largest hotel loyalty program in the world from the biggest hotel company, Marriott, you can use them to purchase Miami Grand Prix packages through Bonvoy Moments, the program’s new “experiential” redemption arm. Given that Bonvoy covers dozens of hotel brands including luxury icons Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis and JW Marriott, the program is very well represented in south Florida. Learn more about using your Bonvoy points for top tier sports and entertainment experiences here in my recent article.

Acqualina: I started with this one because it is where I would want to stay if I were headed to Miami. This well-established luxury hotel earns the highest possible Forbes 5-Star rating for both is accommodations and spa, and sits on 4.5 beachfront acres in pristine Sunny Isles Beach. Acqualina is incredibly well amenitized for its size – just 98 exquisite guest rooms and suites and 188 residences, and the dining options are awesome, with nothing but standouts for Italian, Greek and Japanese, with Il Mulino New York, the alfresco Costa Grill and the new Ke-uH restaurant. It has three oceanfront swimming pools, the stunning spa, and if you are bringing the kids, they will love the marine biology-based children’s program.

Acqualina’s “Miami F1 Speed” package includes accommodations in a Deluxe One-Bedroom Suite with a private balcony overlooking the Atlantic Ocean; two tickets to the Miami Grand Prix on May 6, 7 & 8 (in the Beach Grandstand section); a Roll-Royce Ghost (provided by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Miami) for three days use during the stay to drive to the stadium in style or explore Miami; a private Royal Spa Suite Relax at the award-winning Acqualina Spa with three-hour spa journey for two; Daily breakfast for two; and welcome bottle of Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut champagne to kick things off on the right note (from $4,600 per night based on a minimum five-night stay).

Faena: The Faena Miami Beach is the official hotel of Red Bull’s racing team, and as such is offering a “Red Bull Guest House Miami Race Weekend Experience,” for anyone booking a Premier Oceanfront One-Bedroom Suite or higher room class for minimum four nights. The package includes a team DJ music event, driver meet and greets, and throughout the race access to the official Red Bull Hospitality Suite – with deluxe breakfast, lunch, dinner and open bar – as well as a motorcade escort to and from the track, 3-day tickets, and assorted “activations and celebrations.” You’ll have to contact the hotel for pricing and availability.

F1 Experiences: Not many other top area hotels are offering packages with tickets, which is where F1 Experiences comes in. The official ticket and travel package provider of Formula One, F1 Experiences is in turn run by QuintEvents, a giant in the sports hospitality marketplace and official provider to many big events, from the Superbowl to Kentucky Derby. I have personally traveled with QuintEvents and they do a great job, adding value in the form of VIP access with shorter entry lines to venues, transportation, behind the scenes extras and as F1’s official partner, they have they have lots of allocated seats, as well as multiple in-venue hospitality and hotel options.

For the Miami Grand Prix they offer flexible packages you can book online with your choice of 3-day tickets for seats, still available in one of four zones, from the Beach Grandstand ($1,027) to coveted Turn 18 Grandstand ($2,399). You can buy just tickets or add a hotel, from one of more than two dozen choices, including some top area luxury picks: Mandarin Oriental, JW Marriott Marquis, JW Marriott, East Hotel Miami, SLS Lux, SLS Brickell, The Gabriel, InterContinental and many more, with options from $248 to over$1,200 nightly. F1 Experiences also lets you add VIP hospitality at the race, including the Champions Club, Formula One Paddock Club or Team Packages, all with private suites featuring inclusive food and beverage, driver and celebrity appearances and more.