Formula 1 races tend to be a bit of a blur while you’re there, but once you leave, you realize the experience is something truly remarkable. Especially if you’re fortunate to receive the accommodations and access like what was provided for us from Audi this Miami F1 weekend.
For its inaugural year in Formula 1, Audi invited us to witness its fourth race live in Miami, Florida for the May 3rd race. In all honesty, we were quietly complaining about the immense heat and humidity synonymous with Florida, but Audi’s accommodations quickly took care of that concern. Besides our room in the 5-star 1 Hotel South Beach, the team supplied us with a private driver – in an 2026 Audi SQ7 of course – who took us anywhere we needed, or wanted, to go throughout the weekend. This alleviated the walking through tropical temperatures. Next was the Paddock Club, a private and quite expensive ticket for F1 attendees where you’d often rub elbows with celebrities and executives. But the key takeaway from our time with Audi this weekend has to be at the brand’s solo activation – the Turn 1 Club.
For Formula 1 newcomers, Turn 1 – named literally for the first turn on the track – is where a very large majority of action happens. In a Grand Prix race, it’s often the driver who secures 1st place first has the best overall chance of securing the win. Therefore, turn 1 is where all the drivers fight for that position, and subsequently where collisions and contact happen. For our race, it meant pole position driver Kimi Antonelli had a three-way run in with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, leading to the latter clinching 1st from Antonelli. Max even spun an albeit-clean 360º losing eight positions and dropping from P2 to P10. So as you can see, Turn 1 is pretty exciting, which coincides with its $10,000 USD price.
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And thus, our air-conditioned, front row seat at turn 1 was a highly memorable experience. The three-story club allowed for mingling, refreshments of chef-prepped food like tacos, caviar and desserts, and – naturally – a live feed to the race allowed for the remainder of the circuit to be enjoyed. Audi private clients and company directors showed up with key race team members to welcome us to the space. And when the mood struck us to wander, Turn 1 Club was inclusive of a replica Audi Revolut F1 R26 car, simulator rigs to hone your track skills and more. But the extras were just that, extras. We couldn’t get over the phenomenal view of the race.
Alongside both the paddock and the turn 1 clubs, Audi gave us access to the pit lane walk which is made available to all paddock club holders. What wasn’t included however was our private tour of the garage, while Nico and Gabriel’s cars were getting maintained during the grueling Miami heat. It also allowed us to see up close and personal just how many people are involved with F1 and the drivers, the cars, even the extra maintenance parts required multiple hands. Bonus experiences included in the weekend were the private track day with Audi’s RS 3s at the Concours Club, and something probably just as spectacular as F1 – an Inter Miami CF match, pitch-side, to watch fütbol superstar Lionel Messi play.
Formula 1 continues next in Canada at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on May 24.
