What Was the “Yacht Club” at the Inaugural Miami Grand Prix Formula 1 Race Really Like?

There is nothing quite like watching 20 1000-horsepower race cars, going almost 200 miles per hour, rocket past, aboard a yacht “docked” inside an F1 race track.

I wasn’t sure what to expect prior to spending four full days at the inaugural Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix recently. Of course, I’d seen every episode of the wildly popular Drive to Survive series on Netflix. So, I thought I knew all about the drivers, and drama, and exotic excitement of the Formula 1 racing circuit. 

But I quickly learned that nothing, absolutely nothing, on TV could have prepared me for the adrenaline-pumping, engine-revving, stimulation overload that happens when I felt what it’s like when 20 1000-horsepower race cars, going almost 200 miles per hour, rocket past mere feet of where I was standing.

Better still, my vantage point wasn’t among the crowd of over 100,000 fans in the stands. I was on the best corner of the track because organizers pulled out all the stops and built a “marina” that was built on the inside of inside of Turns 6, 7 & 8, so an an extremely exclusive group of VIPs could watch the race from a yacht, like they do in Monaco and Abu Dhabi.

The funny thing is, while some joked about the “fake marina” that was built for the event, I can say from experience that the MSC Cruises Yacht Club at the MIA Marina (featuring 10 yachts that were transported to the track on trailers) was not only one of the best places to watch the race, it was also the most exclusive (and comfortable) because only 200 or so VIP guests that were invited by the yacht brands were allowed in. So, while most watched the racing crammed into a grandstand seat, or in one of many crowded hospitality suites, yacht club guests (like yours truly) hung out on the “dock” that was mere feet from the track and enjoyed all the luxuries of a fully catered yacht while the cars rocketed past.

And as you can see in these photos, the yachts (that ranged in size from 67 to 44 feet long) even looked like they were floating in “water” that was made from a special vinyl floor. And since we here at Denison Yachting have always been big fans of F1 coming to Miami, we were proud to be one of the brands that were part of that experience, too!

Meanwhile, plenty of superyachts were in Miami for the race, too. One party I stayed way too late at was aboard Dr. Jonathan Rothberg’s 185-foot-long Damen support vessel GENE CHASER.

But, when it comes to serious celebrity star-power, nothing topped being in the paddock and grid area shortly before the race started on Sunday afternoon. Superstars that were milling around the cars and drivers on the grid before the race included: Michael Jordan, Venus and Serena Williams, LeBron James, David Beckham, Michael Douglas, Pharrell, Michael Bay, and even Paris Hilton, as well as numerous Miami Dolphins players and head coach Mike McDaniel.

And I know next year is going to be even better.

Stay tuned!