This past weekend, I had one of the funnest experiences, taking my husband to the F1 Miami Grand Prix for his 30th birthday. I love celebrating people, and I am a big believer in celebrating birthdays (yes, I am one of those annoying girls who will celebrate her birthday month). For my 30th, I went on a cruise to Mexico, so obviously, my husband needed something spectacular as well. So, my gift this year was the idea to go on a Formula 1 trip!
Now I am not and have never been a sports girlie, however, F1 has a GRIP on me (to be honest, it’s probably because my husband introduced me to it through the reality show haha). It has everything. Fast cars, hilarious drivers, fashion, and team drama, and I am here for it! So I was just as excited as he was to attend. Not only that, but we turned it into a whole getaway weekend, spending our first day in Biscayne National Park, the next three at the grand prix, and the final days relaxing in the pool at our hotel on the beach. In my opinion, it was the perfect mix of being a fangirl and a beach vacation.
Lodging and Transportation
The track is located at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida, which is actually quite a bit far from downtown Miami and Miami Beach. So because we wanted to stay on the beach and avoid crazy traffic, we chose to stay on Hollywood Beach and take the shuttles provided by the event, and honestly, it was the right call. Not only was Hollywood Beach beautiful, but parking and transportation to the event were so easy. For the event, we chose to buy a parking pass for Lot 60, which was located at a local college north of the stadium. Overall, driving to the lot and taking the shuttle in probably took about 45 minutes, and while that sounds like a long time, it is nothing compared to the wait (and cost) of ridesharing. Not only that, but the shuttles had their own designated entrance off the highway, making it possible to enter the park much closer to the actual event.
When it came to lodging, we chose to stay at Margaritaville on the Hollywood Beach boardwalk. We chose it for 3 reasons.
It was on the beach.
It was an easy route from there to Lot 60.
We could use AMEX points to pay for a portion of it.
Overall, I would give the “resort” a solid 3.5 stars. The rooms were spacious, comfortable, and very clean. Additionally, there were 3 pool areas (one being for adults only), a wave pool, multiple restaurants and bars, and exclusive beach access. While these are great amenities, the biggest disappointment was how early they closed. The pools said they were open until sundown; however, the staff often closed them down earlier, leaving at least an hour or two of daylight left. Additionally, there were a few instances where the pool bars closed even earlier, making it hard to know what was actually open when. Now you may say, ok but there were other bars on campus you could just go there. You’re right, and we did, once. However, the food wasn’t very good, and the drinks were almost undrinkable. I would describe the food and drinks at the Margaritaville restaurants as comparable to an Applebee’s attached to an indoor mall. But luckily, there are many restaurants on the boardwalk to try and despite these things, it was the most inclusive place to stay on the boardwalk.
Now onto the actual event!
Day 1
The first day of the grand prix was when we did the most walking and exploring. The campus for the race was huge with fan activations, food vendors, trucks, and of course, the race track. We arrived at the track around 11 a.m. and watched the drivers practice from our grandstand seats at turn 1. Friday was very hot (90 degrees hot), so after that, we decided it was time to walk around and find some shade. Our first stop was the AMEX trackside lounge to sign up for a slot to sit in their grandstand. Then we made our way around campus, purchased some gear from the F1 store, and relaxed in the shade at the Autonation Lounge. Finally, we ended our day watching the sprint race qualifying.
That evening, we were able to catch the pool 30 minutes before it closed, and then went out to dinner at Venice down the boardwalk. I don’t have enough good things to say about this restaurant. It was right on the beach, and the food was amazing. Some of the best bolognese I’ve had in a while.
Day 2
This was by far the shortest day we spent at the track because of the heat. Saturday had two main events: the sprint race and qualifying for the main event. However, with temperatures rising to 94 degrees, it was simply unbearable to have unshaded seats. So we arrived early to see a few other things we missed the day before. One of the most unique things about this track is that it’s one of the only ones where you can see down into the paddock regardless of the ticket you hold. So we decided to start our day there. Now, of course, you can’t actually go in, but it is fun to be able to see down into their village.
After that, we grabbed margaritas and made our way to our seats in the Marina Grandstands for the sprint race. At the end, Lando Norris took first for McLaren. Afterwards, we were so sweaty and hot that we decided to eat and leave so that we could watch qualifying from the hotel pool, where we watched Kimi Antonelli take the pole position for Mercedes the 3rd time this season.
Day 3
RACEDAY. Raceday was by far the most fun, and we ended up with fantastic seats at the turn 18 grandstands. Because of rain coming in, the FIA canceled the driver's parade, which I was a little bummed about. However, they moved up the race a few hours, and we missed all the rain. Overall, the race was quite exciting with Pierre Gasly’s rolling crash into the barrier happening right in front of us, taking him out of the race and cutting Alpine's chance for points in half, and Kimi achieving his record-breaking win. After the race, to wait out the crowds a bit, we snuck into the start/stop grandstands to take pictures and see the pit crews wrapping up their gear.
As our weekend came to an end, I was so happy to see my favorite team come out on top, and I am also extremely grateful to have shared such a fun weekend on the beach with my husband. We were absolutely drenched in sweat and sunscreen all weekend, but 10/10 would absolutely do it again!
Want to look into the places we went a little more? Find additional info below!
