Formula 1 kicks off its festivities in Miami

The Formula 1 family came together on Wednesday evening at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium for a sparkling kick-off of the Magic City's milestone event.

This weekend's inaugural race was a long time in the making, with setbacks and delays putting the event in doubt.

But ever since Miami's confirmation on the sport's 2022 calendar, never has a round of the F1 World Championship enjoyed such a level of promotion and hype.

Heralded as a game-changer for F1 or Grand Prix racing's very own Super Bowl, the race has generated a level of excitement and anticipation on the part of competitors and fans alike that is "off the charts" according to McLaren boss Zak Brown.

• Read also: Verstappen expecting 'pretty crazy' weekend in Miami

"I've never seen the level of sponsor engagement, activities, hospitality requests, celebrity requests ever at a grand prix," commented Brown, quoted by Motorsport.com.

"That is not just in my six years of running McLaren, because I've been around the sport for 20 years. And it feels to me very much like the Super Bowl, which is like the biggest event of the year.

"Not only does everyone want to come to the Super Bowl to see the event, but the half-time show, the parties, the events is all a part of it. And it's off the charts.

"We're one of the largest teams with hospitality, and we had double the requests. It's the largest hospitality programme we've ever had."

As the F1 community rolled into town, Grand Prix racing's drivers lost no time taking in Miami's sights and sounds.

Mercedes' George Russell was courtside at the ATX Arena on Monday night to support the NBA's Miami Heat, while on Tuesday, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc visited LoanDepot Park and the Miami Marlins to experience his first baseball.

The Monegasque was emulated by Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez who threw the first pitches ahead of the Marlins' game.

On Wednesday, Lewis Hamilton teamed up with NFL legend Tom Brady for a round of golf at the Miami Beach Golf as part of the Big Pilot Charity Challenge.

The Briton vowed to stick to "driving on the track" after his mixed performance on the links.

It was also a memorable day for AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly who had the opportunity to rub shoulders with NBA icon Michael Jordan to whom the Frenchman donated one of his helmets.

But come the evening, everyone came together on the main podium outside the Hard Rock Stadium for a glitzy formal introduction to the local fans.

"I don't think there's any doubt now that it's working," said Brown about F1's growing success in America.

"Everything says it's working right: we've got more US based sponsors than ever, our US fan base is growing rapidly, our celebrity list for Miami is unlike any I've ever seen, including Monaco, which is kind of the next one that brings out a lot of celebs.

"All of this is just going to keep building this unbelievable momentum that we have. It's awesome."

Check out our gallery of pictures from Wednesday evenings presentation event at the Hard Rock Stadium.

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