Tom Garfinkel, managing partner of the Miami Grand Prix and Miami Dolphins boss, has defended some of the extreme prices at last weekend’s F1 race, claiming that photographs of menus with Lobster Rolls for £240 ($280) were taken ‘without context’.
The Miami GP was an excellent on-track spectacle with an incident-filled sprint race that produced some immense battling in the midfield and a feature race that crowned a first-time winner with Lando Norris holding off Max Verstappen in a memorable spectacle.
However, many fans were left insulted by extortionate prices for food and drinks at the racetrack. One photo that went viral on social media showcased a menu that was offering lobster rolls for £224 ($280) with an option for ‘U-5 chilled prawn’, served with mustard sauce and cocktail sauce for £232 ($290).
These complaints were addressed by Garfinkel after the event. “Somebody sent out a tweet the other day that showed a lobster roll was $280 and they sent it out without comment,” he said. “And the context that wasn’t included is that it was for a suite. It was a lobster roll, for probably 10 people, for $280.”
Ahead of the 2024 running of the Miami GP, questions were raised about the event’s place on the calendar. After two relatively mediocre spectacles and an outstanding debut for the Las Vegas Grand Prix last November, many felt that the Miami International Autodrome’s offering had been upstaged.
However, with the sprint brought to the event for the first time and a memorable Grand Prix in the books, Miami’s spot on the calendar now seems guaranteed and the spectacle will continue to grow F1’s presence in the American market.
One positive that Garfinkel pointed towards was the increase in attendance, particularly among fans paying for general admission passes. These were introduced at a price of £120 ($150) and labelled ‘campus passes’ in response to criticism regarding ticket prices after the first two runnings of the event.
“I think it was really fun to see, probably for the first time in three years, the 300 level of the stadium was almost half full [with] campus pass holders,” he explained. “They can go right across the way where there’s risers where people can stand on if you buy a campus pass for $150 a day – you can stand right next to the race track.
“And those risers exist in multiple areas around the race track. You can go upstairs at the top of the stadium, walk around, see most of the tracks, and the concessions are open just like they are for football. So, there are options that are less expensive, and there’s a lot of them all over the campus.”
