Expensive food prices - including $280 lobster rolls - defended by Miami GP boss
Eye-watering food prices at the Miami Grand Prix have been defended by the F1 race's boss.
The F1 Miami Grand Prix boss, Tom Garfinkel, has defended the expensive pricing of food sold during last weekend’s event.
Extortionate prices of some food products on sale were highlighted in posts on social media which revealed Nachos costing $180 and lobster rolls priced at a whopping $280.
But Garfinkel, the managing partner of the F1 race and boss of the Miami Dolphins NFL team, says the posts took some of the prices out of context.
"Somebody sent out a tweet the other day that showed a lobster roll was $280 and they sent it out without comment," Garfinkel told select media including Motorsport.com. "And the context that wasn't included is that it was for a suite.
"It was a lobster roll, for probably 10 people, for $280.”
Ticket prices for the Miami race have also come under fire since its debut event in 2022.
Miami responded by introducing a $150 campus pass - a type of general admission ticket - to provide fans with a more affordable three-day option.
"I think it was really fun to see, probably for the first time in three years, the 300 level of the stadium was almost half full [with] campus passholders," he said.
"They can go right across the way [he points to a spot outside the braking zone for Turn 1, where a spectator platform is located] where there's risers where people can stand on if you buy a campus pass for $150 a day – you can stand right next to the race track.
"And those risers exist in multiple areas around the race track. You can go upstairs at the top of the stadium, walk around, see most of the track, and the concessions are open just like they are for football.
"So, there are options that are less expensive, and there's a lot of them all over the campus. And then there's some options that are more expensive, and then there's some options that are really expensive because [renowned New York celebrity chef] Mario Carbone is there making your vodka rigatoni, and it's going to cost a lot of money.
"We're just trying to provide options across that spectrum and sometimes people are going to point one thing out and say 'that's really expensive' without providing the context that it's actually a lobster roll for a suite for 10 people, right?
"So, there are inexpensive options as well as that, which is important to us.”
F1 announced that a sellout crowd of 275,000 fans attended the 2024 Miami Grand Prix weekend.
