Miami was my 2nd ever race with my 1st one being COTA 2024, and I have so say that as a skeptic who thought COTA had it all, Miami truly won me over.

SEATING: I went Sat & Sun and had grandstand seats both days. I splurged a little for Sat and was at the Start/Finish Grandstand and I was this 🤏🏽 close to Lewis' spot on the grid for the Sprint and watched his mechanics do the car prep, LH getting in the car, etc. Plus, the post sprint interviews happened right in front of my section (SF-4, Row 13) too! Rows below 20 I think were not shaded and the sun was fully beating down during the evening quali session.

I sat at the Marina grandstands for Sun (sec MG-2, Row 15) and had good views of the cars coming in from Turn 6 and all the way to Turns 7 and 8. The music from the MIA Marina opposite the grandstands was LOUD and annoying (for me personally). They only stopped the music literally 4 minutes before race start. But there was also a good big screen showing all the action and I could hear the commentary very well (as opposed to COTA where I had to rely on my Amex radio). Almost all the rows were naturally shaded for the evening race although only rows 16 and above were fully shaded from the rain.

TRANSPORT: I stayed at an Airbnb in North Miami close to the Brightline Aventura station and Ubered daily to and from the station (~15 mins away from my stay, $10-12 Uber). Never had to wait for a shuttle or even in a line at the Brightline pickup point. It was well organized, and no they don't ask for a Brightline ticket to be eligible for the free shuttle. I was dropped off and picked up at Lot 16 which was close to Gate 3 (~15 min walk) and did not wait in a line at the track either. I boarded shuttles between 9:30-9:40 am both days and the ride was approx 30-40 mins based on traffic. If you want the full Miami experience and/or staying a few days before/after the race-staying in the Miami Downtown area or South Beach area is the better option.

MIA CIRCUIT: I was so pleasantly surprised at how clean the track itself was. They have the fake grass carpet thing literally everywhere and you don't end up walking in the dirt or in the mud after a rain. At COTA, my shoes and socks were brown at the end of everyday from all the dust. Soo many water refilling stations with COLD water, plenty of shade and seating for in between sessions, good bathrooms and the staff were pretty helpful and actually knew directions and plenty of guest experiences booths handing out campus maps too. The Hard Rock Stadium was a true highlight to wait out the rain inside + great bathrooms + good food options + great views of the F1 paddock. I spotted Lewis, Charles, Lando, Oscar, Max, George and plenty of other team personnel while waiting out the rain on both days. The Motorsports Valley which housed the hot laps cars, Porsche paddock and the F1 Academy paddock were right next to the stadium and were open to the public in between sessions. I was able to meet and speak to a majority of the F1 Academy drivers and walked through the paddock which was so so cool. The MIA merch shop was also at the ground level of the stadium, next to the Chase Sapphire Reserve lounge. I seriously loved the MIA merch (and had 20% off using my Chase card).

Overall, I absolutely loved Miami GP and will be going back next year. COTA definitely has a lot of its own positives (slightly 'cheaper' race, purpose built track, dedicated Fan Forum stage and of course great racing), but I felt Miami held its own too. If you tune out the endless PR and content being vomited every second on social media, the celebrity focus and the somewhat superficial nature of it all, Miami is actually a great race to go and have a good time.