Miami Grand Prix has everything — except an F1 American driver

MIAMI GARDENS — Mega. That was the word — in various repetitive forms — that Formula One team principals used to describe the weekend so far for the inaugural Miami Grand Prix.

The grandstands have been filled all weekend; national broadcasts are originating trackside; an A-list of racing celebrities from Formula One champs Jackie Stewart and Mario Andretti to NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon have been visiting teams. Miami Dolphins players, late-night talk show host James Corden and movie director George Lucas join a long list of celebrities who will be walking the starting grid for Sunday’s 3:30 p.m. grand prix start (ABC).

Even former first lady Michelle Obama took in Saturday’s track activity as a guest of Mercedes AMG Petronas team and seven-time world champion driver Lewis Hamilton.

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Mega. Mega.

“It’s fantastic to be back here in America, and it’s amazing to be in Miami racing,’’ said Oracle Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner, whose team driver, Max Verstappen, is the reigning world champion.

“I’ve come through Miami many times, but to come here for a Formula One race feels kind of surreal. I think they’ve done a fantastic job with the venue. And from what I’ve seen with the facilities and the event they are going to put on, it’s great to see Formula One really coming alive in the U.S., and I hope the race we see on Sunday is a thriller.’’

“All the drivers you see, all the teams, there’s a real buzz about this race,’’ he added. “Austin [Texas] is a great race, but suddenly to have Miami, to have Vegas coming [in 2023] as well, it just feels like it’s our time in the U.S. to really show off what Formula One can do.’’

Certainly the locale and the 3.396-mile, 19-turn Miami International Autodrome — built around the Dolphins’ Hard Rock Stadium — has been a big hit. It’s got man-made beaches, even a fake harbor complete with yachts — all complementing the turquoise-blue “Miami” color on the track surface.

“It’s been great,’’ Hamilton said. “The weather is incredible, and we’ve had such a warm welcome here. So happy to be out here. The ambiance in the town is incredible.’’

Where are the American drivers on F1 circuit?

One thing the race does not feature in all this positive red-white-and-blue vibe — an American driver.

While Formula One has been widely accepted and openly embraced in the States — and does call the Haas F1 Racing team its own — it still does not have an American driver on the starting grid.

Only two American drivers have competed in F1 in the nearly 30 years since Michael Andretti — now an IndyCar Series team owner — raced in the 1993 season.

Californian Scott Speed drove for Scuderia Toro Rossa in 2006-07 — before being replaced by eventual four-time world champion Sebastien Vettel in July 2007. Another Californian, Alexander Rossi, made five grand prix starts in 2007 for the Manor Marussia F1 team.

And while neither driver ever scored a point in F1 competition. Rossi did win the 2016 Indianapolis 500 and is currently competing in the American-based NTT IndyCar Series.

“I think the driver is always the bigger star than the team,’’ Horner said of Andretti’s recent discussions to field an American team in the F1 series.

“If you look at the effect Max Verstappen has had in [his native] Holland. He is a national hero, and the following he has around the world from the Dutch fans is unprecedented. You see what happened in Spain with Fernando Alonso. You see Brazil with Ayrton Senna years ago.

“I think the drivers are the stars. Yes, it would be lovely to have the Andretti name in Formula One, but an Andretti driver ... if Mario made a comeback, it would be way more powerful.

“Hopefully with all this interest [in the sport] and with a youth level coming in, people will get involved in motor racing, go-karting. They will get involved in the grassroots and then we’ll see more talent coming through. There will be an American world champion in the future for sure. It’s just a question of when.”

There are a few American candidates in the pipeline.

Colton Herta, Logan Sargeant among American hopefuls

One of Michael Andretti’s current IndyCar drivers, 22-year old Californian Colton Herta, has signed to be a test driver for the McLaren Formula 1 Team this season. And 17-year old North Carolina resident Jak Crawford is competing in Formula 3 for the Red Bull Junior Team.

Boca Raton’s Logan Sargeant, who still owns a home in Fort Lauderdale but lives in London, is widely considered a favorite to earn an F1 opportunity as well. The 21-year old has moved to England, signed as a member of the esteemed Williams Driver Academy and is currently competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship — a world-renowned training series — equivalent to baseball’s Triple-A level — for today’s F1 drivers and past champions.

In 2015, a 15-year old Sargeant became the first American since retired NASCAR star Lake Speed (1978) to win the FIA Karting World Championship. He won a race last year in the Formula 3 championship (at Sochi, Russia) and after being signed by Williams — during last year’s Formula One race weekend in Austin, Texas — he is running for Carlin in the Formula 2 championship this season.

He realizes there is much talk — and great hope — of him making it into Formula One full time and representing the U.S. on the grid.

“As long as I make it there that’s all that matters,’’ said Sargeant, who is attending his “hometown” F1 race this weekend dressed in his Williams Racing livery.

“Obviously, being in Formula 2 now, the path is there, it just comes down to performance, and I feel like Carlin is doing a really good job to give me a fast car at the moment, so we need to take advantage of that.”

Sargeant concedes the very first racing driver he really looked up to and followed is NASCAR’s Gordon. But after his own karting days and early success, open-wheel rather than stock cars seemed to just genuinely become the better option for his career.

He did not hesitate to move full time to Europe to fully immerse himself in his racing and the racing culture.

“Making the move to Europe, that’s by far the hardest part — leaving everything behind and starting fresh,’’ Sargeant said. “Now I don’t live with my family or have all my friends that I grew up with. That’s definitely the most challenging part.”

“It’s just one of those, you know you can always come back to America. Where I feel like it’s much harder to go from America to there. It’s just a sacrifice at this point, but at the end of the day, I feel like it’s the best chance to make F1.”

Gaining the opportunity to represent a Formula One team in the junior ranks is a major achievement. And Sargeant knows it’s a tough road to race — but he’s fully committed and aware, his country is “overdue” for a driver to cheer as its own.

“It’s all performance-based,’’ he added. “Without the results, nothing else really matters. It’s a ruthless sport, that’s all there is to it.

“Pressure is a privilege, I guess. At the end of the day, you deal with it. You just do the best you can. As long as you leave it all out there, you can’t be disappointed.”

Miami Grand Prix

Where: Around Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens

Website, ticket info: f1miamigp.com

TV: 2 p.m., ABC

Today's events: Gates open, 8:30 a.m. W Series second race, 10:20 a.m. Porsche Sprint Challenge second race, 12:30 p.m. F1 drivers parade, 1:30 p.m. Tiesto concert, 2 p.m. F1 Miami Grand Prix, 3:30 p.m. Chainsmokers concert, 6:10 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Formula One lacks American drivers and Miami Grand Prix no exception