¡Podría cancelarse el Gran Premio de Miami! / Last-ditch lawsuit aims for Miami GP cancellation

El 2022 supone la llegada del Gran Premio de Miami a la Fórmula 1 para el próximo 8 de mayo, sin embargo, podría cancelarse si procede la demanda interpuesta por un grupo de vecinos de la zona de Miami Gardens, que busca evitar la realización de la carrera en el Hard Rock Stadium alegando “ruido intolerable y daños a la salud” por el evento deportivo.

El pasado lunes un juez de Miami sería quien decida si se realiza o no el Gran Premio en un circuito alrededor del estadio de los Miami Dolphins de la NFL, donde también se juegan los Masters 1000 y WTA 1000 de tenis luego de abandonar su histórica sede en Crandon Park (Key Biscayne).

Los residentes de Miami Gardens protestaron frente al edificio del ayuntamiento con diversos cartelones con leyendas como: “No a la carrera de Fórmula 1 en nuestra comunidad habitacional. Elegimos el bienestar de nuestros hijos por encima del dinero”. Por su parte, con un megáfono se gritó la consigna: “La Fórmula 1 deja millones, pero nuestra salud no tiene precio”.

Sam Dubbin, quien es el abogado de los residentes que se oponen al GP de Fórmula 1, explicó que este evento deportivo puede “causar graves trastornos y daños físicos” que sean irreversibles, e incluso documentó que el evento de automovilismo generará hasta 97 decibeles de ruido en los hogares dentro de un radio de cuatro kilómetros alrededor del Hard Rock Stadium, una media muy por encima de lo médicamente sugerido.

En caso de disputarse la carrera de F1 en Miami, la ciudad de la Florida sería la undécima en organizar la competencia en los Estados Unidos desde que comenzó el Campeonato en 1950, después de Indianápolis, Sebring, Riverside, Watkins Glen, Long Beach, Las Vegas, Detroit, Dallas, Phoenix y el Circuito de las Américas, en Austin.

Las Vegas, la próxima ciudad con F1
Con la llegada de Miami al calendario oficial de la Fórmula 1, son dos las ciudades estadounidenses en este 2022 que tendrán carrera, ya que Austin (Texas) es la cita que antecede al Gran Premio de México, pero a partir del 2023 se sumará Las Vegas a la F1, totalizando tres eventos en la Unión Americana.

Last-ditch lawsuit aims for Miami GP cancellation

Miami residents are having one last try at forcing the cancellation of the inaugural Formula 1 race in their city.

The Miami Grand Prix race weekend is scheduled for May 6-8, when it will become F1’s second venue in the United States – with Las Vegas the third from next year onwards.

But many Florida residents have long since been opposed to the grand prix on the grounds of “intolerable” noise pollution, and even with just a few weeks to go and final preparations taking place at the circuit around the Hard Rock Stadium they are not giving up the fight to have it called off.

As reported by the Miami Herald, a lawsuit from Miami Gardens residents, led by Betty Ferguson, the former Miami-Dade County Commissioner, is seeking to block the grand prix.

A decision is set to be made early next week, although the Miami Herald quote Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Alan Fine as having expressed “frustration” that a ruling will have to be made in such a tight timeframe.

The basis for the residents’ lawsuit is that the noise from the race would “cause severe disruption and physical harm to Miami Gardens residents”.

They quote an engineering firm’s forecast that noise of potentially 97 decibels for homes up to a distance of 2.5 miles from the circuit would be experienced – “similar to the sound levels produced by a chainsaw”.

The grand prix is still awaiting the issuing of its special events permit by the city, with Judge Fine saying: “Numerous courts before me have resisted the temptation to jump into something that hasn’t been issued yet. Shouldn’t I wait to see if the city manager issues the special events permit?

“We are in this limbo state prior to the issuance of a special events permit. It’s a very uncomfortable place for a court to be.”

Sam Dubbin, an attorney for the residents, claims it is not necessary to wait for the permit to be granted. “They live in a bedroom community and they are entitled to protection under the law,” said Dubbin.

Assuming it still goes ahead, the Miami event will certainly offer different experiences for spectators, which includes the construction of a temporary beach club of nearly 24,000 square feet complete with pools and luxury cabanas.

But one other recent innovation we at PlanetF1 recently reported upon now appears not to be going ahead – the pre-race team principals’ parade has been deleted from the schedule.