Has Formula 1 opened a Pandora's Box by pursuing a special 'free' deal for the Miami Grand Prix? Will other race promoters now be pushing to replicate it, and has Hockenheim already become the first to ask? And what do the Formula 1 teams think about the possibility of their future income being compromised by a shift in the way race contracts operate?
Those are just a handful of the questions that have arisen since it became clear that Miami is being treated by F1 as a special case. The details have yet to be disclosed, but a proposal document for the 2019 Miami race indicates that "an atypical commercial model is being developed to enable the race to take place."
That means there will be no traditional up front sanction fee, and instead there will be some form of revenue and risk sharing involving the F1 organisation, billionaire promoter Stephen M Ross and, presumably, the City of Miami.