Formula One has confirmed its final Fan Festival of the year will take place in Miami alongside the U.S. Grand Prix in October.
The event will take place on Saturday, October 20 and Sunday, October 21, alongside the race at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin. F1 teams Red Bull and Renault will be present in Miami as well as two-time F1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi, who will be driving his 1974 championship winning McLaren M23.
Fans will be able to watch the events in Austin with qualifying and the race live streamed on screens scattered in Bayfront Park. Aside from the motorsport entertainment, Silk City, Diplo and Mark Ronson headline Saturday evening’s concert.
Speaking about the announcement, F1’s managing director Sean Bratches reaffirmed Liberty Media’s ambitions of bringing the sport to the U.S. in the coming seasons.
« America is increasingly becoming a hub of passion around Formula 1 and I am particularly excited about the opportunity to host an F1 Festival in Miami, » Bratches said. « The success of the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin demonstrates the appetite for Formula One in this country and we are determined to bring the sport to even more American fans in the coming seasons.
« Following the immense success of our events in London, Shanghai, Marseille and Milan, I am certain that Miami will follow suit. Miami is a diverse and vibrant city that shares many of the brand attributes of Formula One, making it the perfect host for Formula 1’s final festival of 2018. »
In May, F1 announced its intentions for Miami to host a second U.S. race in 2019 but was later forced to delay these proposals due to local opposition and the time frame not being sufficient enough to get plans in place to host a successful grand prix.
http://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/24811783/formula-one-confirms-miami-fan-festival-alongside-us-grand-prix
