Formula 1 drivers love Miami. Except for one thing locals hate, too
Famous and extremely rich men in their 20s, 30s and 45 (Fernando Alonso) who bounce around the world, driving super expensive performance cars, able to get into any restaurant or club they please and gushed over by women and men — of course Formula 1 drivers love coming to Miami for the FIA Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix.
Except the traffic.
We’re not talking about racing traffic that messes up a good qualifying lap or keeps you from pulling away from a pursuing car. We’re talking about common, street and highway why-aren’t-we-MOVING? non-rush hour traffic.
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They’ve seen the world and they agree with global traffic tracker INRIX that has Miami ranked 11th worldwide in congestion and 14th in “hours lost to traffic.”
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Last year’s Miami Grand Prix winner, Lando Norris, said he’s got friends here and always likes other star athletes and celebrities showing up. Heck, Norris’ Sunday night celebration after winning in 2024 was so good, the McLaren driver said he doesn’t remember it.
“The one thing is just the traffic,” Norris said. “The traffic’s terrible.”
When a reporter asked if it was worse than Mexico City (INRIX’s No. 2 in congestion), Norris said, “It might be, because in Mexico there’s kind of no roads. Here, I’ve never seen so many roads, yet there’s still so much traffic.”
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Moments earlier, asked what he would change about the Miami Grand Prix, Yuki Tsunoda of Red Bull said, “There’s not much. I mean, traffic is a bit of a topic...”
“You get a police escort!” Alpine Racing’s Pierre Gasly said. “What are you complaining about?”
Tsunoda said, “Luckily, this year. Last year, it was a bit different.”
When the “what would you change?” question was asked to the next group of drivers in the interview room and they were told they couldn’t name “traffic,” they couldn’t name anything. But, Kick Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg couldn’t resist.
“Traffic is definitely a topic here,” Hulkenberg said. “And, unfortunately, this year, apparently, the grand prix cut the police escort budget. It would be nice to have that back for next year, please.”
This story was originally published May 2, 2025 at 7:05 AM.
