As The Race reports, the investment group Otro Capital is currently in talks to purchase a stake in the Miami Grand Prix, with a potential deal reaching up to 20%. Private equity firm Otro is well known in the paddock as the same group that bought into the Alpine F1 squad back in 2023 for $200 million, valuing that team at around $900 million. While the Miami GP owner Stephen Ross is involved in the discussions, the event has declined to comment on the report, though sources familiar with the situation suggest it is accurate even if nothing has been agreed yet.
This potential move on the Miami event is fascinating because it comes alongside Otro's efforts to offload its 24% stake in the Alpine team. Despite negotiations with several interested parties, a deal for the Alpine position has not yet concluded. Talks advanced with Mercedes before the German car manufacturer pulled out, while former Red Bull boss Christian Horner was interested until Alpine’s owners, Renault, elected to hold fire on discussions. During the Mercedes discussions, Otro was targeting a price tag of more than $700 million as F1 team valuations have shot up. Far from losing interest in the sport, Otro's discussions with Miami point more toward capitalising on a profit made.
Now, Miami has gone from an F1 novelty to a firmly established event in five years. It holds the joint-longest contract on the calendar running to 2041, sharing the honour with Austria. But the organisers are not sitting on their laurels. With Katharina Nowak as F1's youngest race promoter, there is a clear energy to try new things and challenge the status quo. In an exclusive interview, Nowak explains that they look at the campus as a fresh start every single year, using feedback and data to strategically build up the next event.
The event has already navigated the tricky transition from initial novelty to long-term sustainability. Nowak points out that the biggest challenge for any promoter is building a core fanbase that comes back every single year. Interestingly, two thirds of the audience comes directly from the state of Florida, creating a sustainable local community that does not have to worry about booking a hotel or a flight. To serve this growing base, organisers spend three months over the summer digging into attendee data, even taking products offline that no longer work as the audience shifts heading into year six.
Physical infrastructure is evolving just as fast. For 2027, the race has a new title sponsor with Hard Rock taking over naming rights, a deal that includes a revamp of the famous beach club. There is also an expanded Paddock Club down to Turn 1 taking the form of a three-story extension adding 115,000 square feet to the hospitality area, allowing a further 3,200 guests. Nowak notes that when they made that investment, it was a long-term vision of a building that could sustain demand until 2041. Organisers also hosted a Fan Fest on South Beach over race weekend last year, pulling in thousands of fans where over 95% of attendees were not part of the existing database.
At the same time, the Miami Grand Prix embraces its identity as a destination city race with a strong luxury angle. Nowak explains they are not shying away from high-end experiences, noting that hospitality has evolved from 20-to-30 person suites down to 10-person suites for groups of friends wanting private spaces. Yet that premium push is balanced by the Campus Pass, ensuring fans on completely different budgets can still experience the grand prix and grow the base across the board.
