Formula 1's Miami Grand Prix is facing last-minute legal hurdles ahead of its inaugural race next month.
Opposition to an F1 event in the Floridian city has been constant ever since it was first proposed back in 2018, with the original location around Port Miami and Bayfront Park scrapped in favour of the current venue at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.
Even after the Grand Prix got the go-ahead last year, residents pursued a civil rights lawsuit arguing the race was discriminatory given the 70% African American community in the area, although this was later dismissed.
Since then, construction of the new Miami International Autodrome has been underway and the finishing touches are now being applied ahead of the inaugural event on May 6-8.
🚨 TRACK PAINTING HAS BEGUN AT THE @F1 @cryptocom MIAMI GRAND PRIX 🚨 pic.twitter.com/oepjkxhA11
— F1 Miami Grand Prix (@f1miami) April 13, 2022
But that isn't stopping residents from placing a final lawsuit led by Betty Ferguson, the former Miami-Dade County Commissioner, aiming to block the race due to "intolerable" noise levels.
The case, as quoted by the Miami Herald, includes a prediction from an engineering firm that the F1 race will create a noise level of around 97 decibels for homes within 2.5 miles of Hard Rock Stadium, roughly equivalent to a chainsaw.
As a result, this will “cause severe disruption and physical harm to Miami Gardens residents” a hearing on the matter heard.
Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Alan Fine has said he could rule on the matter as early as Monday but was reportedly "frustrated" by the tight timeline.
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Complicating the matter further is that the Miami GP is yet to receive its special events permit from the city with that potentially not being issued until the week of the event.
As a result, lawyers for both Hard Rock Stadium and the city of Miami Gardens have argued the court cannot make a decision until this has been granted because it should be up to local officials, not a judge, to decide if the F1 race would “unreasonably disturb the peace and comfort of adjacent residences” as per the law.
Judge Fine also noted: “Numerous courts before me have resisted the temptation to jump into something that hasn’t been issued yet. Shouldn’t I wait to see if the city manager issues the special events permit?”
In response, Sam Dubbin, the attorney for the residents, said: “They live in a bedroom community and they’re entitled to protection under the law".
While it appears unlikely the lawsuit will prevent the Miami GP from going ahead, it is no doubt one last headache for F1 in a difficult journey to bring the race to fruition.
