When it comes to celebrity star power, itās pretty hard to top Tom Cruise, Shakira, Roger Federer, Serena and Venus Williams, LL Cool J, Pat Mahomes, Will.i.am and a couple tech guys named Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Larry Ellison among many others.
But, after being smushed together with all the A-listers on the grid of the start of the Miami Grand Prix 2023 on Sunday, I can say they might have been as star struck as I was. Who could blame them? No other spectacle celebrates exclusivity, technology, celebrity, speed, razor sharp competition and even the romance of history quite Formula 1.
So, while hundreds of thousands of fans descended on 3.36-mile track around Miamiās Hard Rock Stadium that was specifically built for the best F1 drivers in the world to compete. A virtual whoās who of the celebrity world bumped into each other on the grid before the race. And then the retired to various uber-exclusive hospitality suites, or in some cases, their rather large helicopter (Iāll leave it to you to guess who), to see if reigning world champion (and current points leader) Max Verstappen could come back from P9 on the starting grid to take the checkers like he did last year.
Meanwhile, as soon as we were all ushered off the grid before the start of the race, I made a B-line to the āmarinaā inside of Turns 6, 7, and 8 where the Barton & Gray Mariners Club had two of their brand-new Daychaser 48 powerboats for members to call āhomeā during the entire race weekend. And from what I heard, their members were not only impressed with the amazing access and view of the race the āmarinaā provided. The company may have sold a few boats to potential members who hadnāt seen their new, custom-built model yet. And since Midnight Express had three go-fast models in the marina too, I bet they sold some boats as well.
I also spent some time in the suites. The view from the IGY Marina suite on turn 5 was killer and I also learned they offered a package that provided helicopter service to and from the race for clients who have yachts docked in their Island Gardens marina. And the view from the Ferretti Suite on turn 18 was totally, different yet just as awesome as the view from the Turn 5 suites.
So what about the race? Well, Max Verstappen put on a master class. He came back from P9 to win. But we all knew he would.
The real questions were: Whereās Jeff Bezos watching the race? Is he in the helicopter? What about Elon? Was he researching battery technology with Christian Horner and the rest of the Red Bull team?
I donāt have any of those answers. But I can say Roger Federer was pretty excited as he spoke about what it was like to be on the grid before the start of the race. And after seeing him say āWe donāt have people on center court before a match. As an athlete is itās incredible experience. Itās a different type of energy.ā
All I can say is, āI agree.ā