The F1 Miami Family grandstand provides reserved and elevated seating on the outside of the southern straight at the Miami Grand Prix track. But it also has some of the worst views of any seating area at the Miami GP circuit.
This article provides a guide to sitting here, examples of the view, a seating chart and some tips on the best seats to select.
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F1 Miami Family grandstand
2024 Update: I don’t think the Family grandstand is in use any more, but I’ll leave this info here for now.
For the 2023 Miami Grand Prix the Family grandstand has been expanded slightly to provide some additional seating. In the images below it has four sections but for 2023 it has seven.
All the seating in the grandstand is reserved and has to be purchased in advance. The Family grandstand is partially covered, see the sections below for more info on which rows are in the shade out of the blazing Miami sun.
Family grandstand tickets
Tickets for the Family grandstand often sell out on the official Miami GP website.
So I’d recommend buying tickets through StubHub as an alternative. You’ll often find them cheaper than list price there, plus, you’ll have lots of single-day ticket options too.
I’ve bought Formula 1 tickets using StubHub a number of times during the last couple of seasons, including for my visit to the Las Vegas GP last year. I’ve always had a great experiences with them and will 100% be using them this season for more F1 tickets.
They also have a ‘FanProtect guarantee’ which makes sure your tickets and money are always protected and safe.
Where is the Family grandstand at the Miami F1?
The Miami F1 Family grandstand is located on the outside of the circuit along the south ‘straight’, which isn’t actually straight at all. It’s right behind the track fence, and as there’s no run off on the outside of this bit of the circuit it’s very close to the track.
The grandstand is on the right hand side of the circuit just after Turn 10 which is the flat-out left hand kink. This part of the track is in one of the Miami GP DRS zones.
Family grandstand Miami F1 seating chart
Below is a seating chart for the Family grandstand. As it shows, the stand is split in to seven sections, D1 to D7. Section D7 is closest to Turn 10 and section D1 is closest to Turn 11.
Each section has 27 rows of seats. Row 1 is the lowest down nearest to the track and row 27 is highest up at the back.
Sections D1 and D7 on either end are 12 seats wide. Sections D2, D3, D4, D5 and D6 in the middle are 24 seats wide.
The seat numbers are higher the further to the left of the stand you sit (as you look at the circuit). They also start from zero in each section, rather than continuing across the whole stand.
Grandstand details
The Family grandstand is partially covered. There is a roof which directly covers the back 12 or so rows (rows 15 to 27).
As the stand is North West facing it’s likely to have the sun directly behind it for most of the day. So the few rows in front of the edge of the roof are also likely to catch some shade as the sun moves around. The front 10 rows, however, are going to be completely uncovered for the whole day which could be pretty horrible in the Miami heat.
There are no side coverings on the Family grandstand so if you sit in the seats on the extreme ends of section D1 or D7 you still stand a chance of being exposed to the elements.
The seating in the Family grandstand at the Miami F1 is individual chairs with flip-up seat bases and fixed back rests. There are no cupholders or armrests.
Views from the Family grandstand at the Miami F1
This is the worst thing about this seating area. The views from the Family grandstand for the Miami Grand Prix are very limited. Being located on the outside of the track between turns 10 and 11, all you can see from the stand is the cars speeding right past you from left to right. At this point, well in to the DRS zone, they’re probably close to 200mph if not over it, so you do at least get to see them at their fastest.
However with the cars being so fast and the grandstand being so close to the edge of the track, it’s very much a case of blink and you’ll miss them.
As you look to your left you can see the cars exiting the left-hand kind of Turn 10. In 2022 there was a spectator bridge a little way to the left of the grandstand which gave you a good view of the Turn 10 exit. However, based on the Virtual Viewer for the 2023 race it looks like the bridge has been moved to be directly adjacent to the stand.
This will block you view of Turn 10 significantly. Sitting lower down will help you see under the bridge, but at the same time you’ll be out of the shade.
Looking to your right from the stand will give you a view of the braking area and run-in to Turn 11. This area often sees a lot of overtaking thanks to the slipstreaming and DRS. From the Family grandstand you won’t be able to see the apex of Turn 11, but you might just catch some side-by-side action as cars begin to line up their overtaking moves as the corner approaches.
Apart from this short section of track between turns 10 and 11, you can’t see any other parts of the Miami Grand Prix circuit from the Family grandstand.
Giant TVs
Thankfully there is one giant TV directly opposite the Miami F1 Family grandstand. It’s on the other side of the track, but as the circuit’s pretty narrow here it’s actually pretty close.
Bear in mind that if you sit in the top few rows of the grandstand your view of the TV screen might be slightly restricted. The canopy over the top of the grandstand drops down slightly at the front, so sitting high up means it might cut off your visibility of the screen. Avoid the top 5 rows.
Is the Miami F1 Family grandstand a good place to sit?
The Family grandstand has really poor views of the circuit. As the section above says, all you can see is the slightly curved straight between turns 10 and 11. That’s it. The rest of the action you’ll have to watch from the jumbotron screen directly opposite the stand.
If you’re a die-hard racing fan who wants to see as much of the on-track action as possible then this is definitely not the stand for you. If you want to see some overtaking action, check out the Miami GP Beach grandstands instead. They’re a little further along the track at Turn 11 and have amazing views of the many overtakes that happen at that turn. They also have very lively atmospheres.
The Family grandstand is called ‘Family’ as it has a slightly more relaxed atmosphere, a little calmer than the Beach or Marina grandstands at the Miami Grand Prix. But at over $900 per person for a ticket a family of four would still have to pay over $3500 which is huge money. Considering you get a very limited view of the cars and have to watch 95% of the race from the screen, you could do that from home and save a bunch of cash.
If you’re determined to experience the atmosphere of the Miami Grand Prix then the Family grandstand has a number of concessions directly behind it, plus the Red Bull eSports gaming trailer is also right there. The footbridge directly next to the stand provides quick access to the East Campus that has many more food and drink vendors and entertainment options.
Personally, as someone interested in the racing, the Family grandstand would be my last choice of seats at the Miami F1. If I did sit here, I’d want seats in the shade (rows 15 and up) but not too high to block the view of the screen, so probably around row 20. I’d also try and sit in section D1 to have a better view of the action as the cars head towards Turn 11.
Nearest entrance and parking
The nearest spectator entrance gate to the Family grandstand is either gate 3 or gate 14B, both are only a short walk from the stand.
See our article on Miami F1 parking for more info on the nearest parking lots to this entrance gate.
Other Miami F1 grandstands
Click the links below to read our viewing and seat guides for all of the other grandstands at the Miami GP:
Be careful when booking your seats
When you use the MiamiGP official website to book your seats with the Virtual Viewer, it doesn’t always give you a completely accurate representation of the view from the seats you’ve selected.
As an example let’s select seats 1 and 2 on the right hand side of section D5 in the Family grandstand.
That then gives us the fan view, but actually we’re still about 9 seats away from the end of the secton.
So the view it’s showing isn’t completely accurate for the seats we selected. Just bear that in mind when choosing your seats.
