Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix president Tyler Epp has admitted he made a mistake when he questioned the addition of a sprint race to the event earlier this 12 months.
Miami International Autodrome, which can host its first Grand Prix in 2022, is one in every of six circuits hosting Formula 1 sprint races this season.
Max Verstappen won Saturday's 19-lap race, while title rival Lando Norris secured his first Formula 1 Grand Prix victory a day later.
Miami has already been confirmed to maintain the sprint race for 2025. The only planned change to the line-up is Austria being replaced by Belgium among the many six tracks assigned the shorter race format.
Epp admits he was initially mistaken to fear introducing a sprint race to Miami – later seeing the industrial advantages and positive fan response.
“I was wrong about the sprint race, I was very concerned about its value, but I couldn’t have been more wrong,” he told Motorsport.com.
“I’ll be clear, I wasn’t within the camp once we first signed the deal, however the feedback and data we got showed that year-on-year attendance was up on Saturday they usually were there early for the sprint race.
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38
Photo: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
“When we checked out the gate scans and data, it turned out they didn’t come for qualifying, they got here for the sprint race.
“I was wrong, it was a really, really good thing for us. I understand that it wasn't like that for every promoter, but we really enjoyed it and saw real commercial value in having a sprint race, that was fantastic for us.”
Epp revealed that, along with keeping the sprint race, he also expects the support race schedule to look very similar next 12 months.
The F1 Academy will debut in Miami in 2024, after its inaugural season in Austin last 12 months, while the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America is prone to return for a 3rd consecutive 12 months.
For Epp, these events usually are not only a sideshow for spectators, but are also crucial to preparing for higher Formula 1 racing conditions.
“What matters is what happens on the track before Formula 1. In the first year they made it clear that no one would be on the track before them because they wanted to be the first on the new track,” he said.
“In 12 months three the support races were successful for us, putting Porsche on the right track and the F1 Academy on the right track was really positive. Now the racing lines aren’t all the time the exact same, but just the lay of the rubber had an impact on what the race teams were coping with on the right track.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photo: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
“From our perspective, we’re very committed to the 2 support series to some extent and expect to have the same lineup next 12 months.
“We have learned so much in the primary and second 12 months, we face challenges and mistakes, we’re honest about them, we attempt to face them with full force.
“In years two to three we focused solely on fixes, and in years four and five I think it’s just as important to listen to our customers – we’ve put a lot of emphasis on that over the last 12 months.”
