Welcome to Pole Position, our new Formula 1 series. The cities, the drivers, the parties, the brands, the people, the adrenaline of race day. We’re here to loop you in on everything that actually matters.
We arrived in Miami with what we thought was a clear read on Formula 1 and where it sits in the culture right now. Drive to Survive turned the sport into a pandemic obsession, and Cadillac just rolled onto the grid as the first American team. But what we found wasn’t just a race weekend — it felt more like a music festival that happened to include a race. Which, it turns out, is what makes a Grand Prix unlike any other sporting event. And that’s a good thing.
Sandy was on the ground all week with Jim Beam and Cadillac. I came in over the weekend with MSC Cruises. What follows is the debrief we owed each other once the dust settled.
You’re In It Long Before You Get to the Track
ERICA: You were there three days before me. Walk me through it.
SANDY: The moment I landed Thursday, I could already feel the energy. The city was gearing up for race weekend. I checked into my room, and it was decked out — cute merch, a bottle of whiskey, and the kind of thoughtful goodies that instantly told me somebody Black was behind the gifting. (I was right. Shoutout to Amanda.) There was Valentino fragrance, Brown Sugar body oil, Topicals lip balm, and a portable fan. Later that night, I met up with the team for dinner and got my first taste of their signature cocktail for the weekend: the Golden Mullet. Whiskey isn’t normally my drink, but after a few sips, the Golden Mullet had me reconsidering.
ERICA: Welcome to the club Ma’am! I’m an old-fashioned girl myself.
ERICA: Wait, who’s Amanda?
SANDY: Amanda Haynes — she’s the Global Brand PR Director at Suntory Global Spirits. She built our trip. You could see her touch in every detail, from the gifting to the events to the overall energy. Every choice felt intentional. I love that more women are stepping in to co-create the F1 experience so more of us can find our way into the sport.
ERICA: Yes, it’s comforting that more of us are finally giving in to F1. Honestly, I was surprised at how my DMs lit up from friends I had no idea were into the sport. Something’s in the water.
SANDY: Totally! Then Thursday night rolled into the opening party at the Moxy South Beach, and from the second we walked in, the energy was high. Cadillac driver Sergio Pérez made his appearance, and the entire room lit up. It was such a dope moment to witness in person. He’s the most successful Mexican driver in F1 history, sat out all of 2025, and is now officially back on the grid with Cadillac. He talked about what it meant to represent Mexico on a global stage and how meaningful it feels to be back.
SANDY: Friday afternoon started with a whiskey tasting, and that’s also when Lady London officially joined the trip. She’s already an Unbothered fan, so having her there alongside other editors and whiskey enthusiasts was a fun mix.
After the tasting, I headed to the Hard Rock Stadium solo to check out Audi’s Turn 1 Club. If you’re going to watch the race, Turn 1 Club is exactly where you want to be. The view of the cars flying past was unreal. There was AC, unlimited food and drinks, cozy seating, and the most incredible view of the track. Watching the race for the first time, I was fully locked in and screaming “GOOOO!”
What I wasn’t prepared for was the traffic leaving the race. On a normal day, the drive from Brickell to the track is about 30 minutes. It took me almost two hours to get back to my hotel. My biggest tip: leave about 15 minutes before the race officially ends unless you’re prepared to sit for a while.
BIG Yacht Energy (and That Wild Race Day Moment)
SANDY: When did you finally get there?
ERICA: Friday afternoon. The Fontainebleau lobby on a Wednesday-into-Friday during F1 weekend was something I am still processing. It was BUSY.
SANDY: [laughing] It tracks. The Fontainebleau tends to pump for sure.
ERICA: When I got to the track Saturday morning, I immediately clocked that this wasn’t going to be like any other sporting event. The fashion was the first signal — race motocross meets linen meets Florida comfort. Then I got to the marina, where MSC was set up, and I was honestly blown away. They had built a full-on land-locked Superyacht— five levels, 32,000 square feet, towering 50 feet over the track. Pools, cabanas, a Bagatelle restaurant on Deck 2, the Jack Daniel’s Lounge on Deck 3, 360-degree panoramic views from the Captain’s Deck. Built inside Turns 5 through 9 so you could see five corners from one structure.
SANDY: That’s insane.
ERICA: They called it The Yacht Club. It was fully unlike anything else at the track. I’m not a cruise person, but I came out of it wanting to book one. Also, next time I’m bringing a swimsuit so I can splash around in the cabana pool while watching the race. I was jealous watching other people cool off.
SANDY: Okay, can we talk about the music? It was everywhere — live performances, live DJs at almost every brand activation on the track, even the tiny ones.
ERICA: Exactly. Marshmello, Nelly, Loud Luxury — they all performed at different clubs on the track. I think that’s where the Coachella comparison kicked in for me. Music brings everybody in. F1 by itself is still quite niche in America — but you don’t need to know the drivers or the teams to know who Marshmello is. Also, The Yacht Club almost exclusively played Afrobeats and amapiano, which I was thrilled about.
SANDY: I agree with you on the festival comparison. Coachella works because it pulls a bunch of different scenes together. F1 in Miami is doing the same thing.
ERICA: Right. And it shows in who shows up. Serena Williams was over at Ferrari catching up with Lewis Hamilton — her actual friend, the only other Black athlete dominating an English sport at the same time she was. Chase Infiniti and Tyriq Withers were doing the Audi garage tour — that’s not the room you used to see at a sporting event. The crossover is literal. But honestly, what separates it from Coachella is the luxury layer. Coachella has VIP tents. F1 has fully built-out structures. It’s another level altogether. How was your Saturday?
SANDY: For me, it was all about the Sprint and Qualifying races — basically the moment where you start figuring out who’s actually fast and which drivers you need to keep your eye on heading into Sunday. I watched the sprint earlier in the day and got to do a garage tour with Cadillac before the qualifying race.
ERICA: How was the garage tour?
SANDY: Honestly, it might have been one of my highlights. Getting behind the scenes and seeing how much precision, detail, and teamwork goes into Formula 1 up close gave me a completely different appreciation for the sport. Everything moves fast, but somehow everyone still seems incredibly calm and focused at the same time. It honestly felt like watching organized chaos in the best way possible.
ERICA: You know, I felt the same way at the Paddock Club — F1’s most exclusive hospitality zone, behind the pit lane, where teams, sponsors, and VIP guests all converge during race weekend. It’s also where the teams have their motorhomes — basically mobile clubhouses that double as engineering hubs, with full bars, dining rooms, a place for The drivers to hyper focus on how to improve the race. I went to the Alpine Motorhome on Saturday and met their lead driver, Pierre Gasly.
SANDY: So wild that you got to meet Pierre right before what happened on Sunday. They actually moved Sunday’s race up by a few hours because of the rain forecast — and then lap six happened.
ERICA: Right? Pierre came around Turn 17 on his sixth lap made contact with Liam Lawson from Racing Bulls on the inside. Pierre’s car flipped completely upside down before crashing into the barrier. A full mid-air flip.
SANDY: I screamed when that happened.
ERICA: Same! It’s wild to watch a car flip in real time and then see the driver climb out of the wreckage unharmed.
SANDY: The level of danger feels different with F1. I think that’s also what makes it exciting. And it’s great that the safety measures have evolved to the point where wild moments like that can happen without much risk to the drivers.
ERICA: I agree. I was really rooting for Pierre, especially after meeting him. But the day belonged to Kimi Antonelli — the 19-year-old rookie at Mercedes everyone’s been watching. He won the Miami Grand Prix. Third in a row this season.
What to Pack for Miami F1
Here’s what we think you should have on hand.
So How Much Does It Cost?
SANDY: Okay, let’s circle back to the festival comparison and talk about how much it costs to actually come to F1.
ERICA: People don’t talk about the actual numbers, which is part of why F1 feels intimidating.
SANDY: Exactly. F1 has tiers, just like a festival. There are basically two ways in: you either get a grandstand ticket, or you get into a club.
ERICA: The Campus Pass — three-day general admission, which gets you onto the grounds — starts around $400. That’s your festival-GA equivalent. You’re in. You can walk the campus, you can find your way to the Fan Fest in Lummus Park, which is free and runs all five days.
SANDY: Grandstand seats are the next tier. Reserved seating with actual sightlines to the track. Three-day grandstand passes start around $800 and run up to $1,750 depending on which corner you’re sitting at. Turn 1, where I was with Audi, is one of the more expensive ones because that’s where the action kicks off and ends.
ERICA: Then you get into the clubs. The Hard Rock Beach Club, the Turn 18 Club, the MSC Yacht Club — each one is its own world, hosted by a brand, with its own vibe. Some have public deck passes, some are by inquiry, some are wrapped into hospitality packages. Pricing varies, access varies. You have to dig around to find exactly what you’re looking for.
SANDY: And then there’s the top-tier club.
ERICA: The Paddock Club. That’s F1’s own hospitality program. Full access, drivers come through, the food is top notch. Starts around $8,000 and runs to $12,000+ for premium suites. It’s essentially having courtside tickets to a basketball game, with a five-star restaurant within arm’s reach.
SANDY: And then there’s the tier you actually can’t buy into.
ERICA: Right. Comp invitations, brand-curated guest lists, the celebrities and creators who get pulled in by partners. That’s the artist-pass equivalent — no money buys it. It’s about who knows you and who’s building the room.
SANDY: But here’s the thing. You don’t have to be in any of those clubs to have a great weekend.
ERICA: Right. The thing about Miami is the city itself becomes the activation. The brand events spill out into Brickell and Wynwood and South Beach. Some of them are free. The Fan Fest is free. Watching the race from a bar in Wynwood with a good crowd is free.
ERICA: So the honest advice is: pick your tier, but also pick your club. The race is the anchor. The club is the experience. And the clubs exist at every price point.
Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
