Tyreek Hill and Max Verstappen
Jaylen Waddle and Lewis Hamilton
Raheem Mostert and Charles LeClerc
Names that are synonymous with one thing: speed. For football fans, you might not be aware that it’s currently race week in Miami; however, if you’re a Dolphins fan and have been to a game lately, you’ve noticed that they’ve built a Formula 1 track around Hard Rock Stadium. The Miami Grand Prix debuted last year, and it was a smash hit, combining the worldwide phenomena of Formula 1 racing with the allure of Miami. The celebrities came out in droves, and race fans from around the globe got to see how life is lived in one of the nation’s vacation meccas.
On Thursday, May 4th (May the 4th be with you), the Dolphins partnered up with some of the racers on our Hard Rock Stadium field to take them through rigorous football drills. Cone drills, bag drills, ladder drills, and more; the racers were pushed to the limit, which they are used to inside of their race cars, but outside maybe not as much. Alex Albon, who drives for Williams Racing, stated, “Racing is definitely my sport,” after being coached through the drills by Bradley Chubb, Jaelan Phillips, Mike White, and Alec Ingold. When all was said and done, Pierre Gasly of the Alpine F1 team finished with the best time of 21.63 seconds.
While the racers were testing their football skills, some of our guys were testing out their ability to work on the racetrack. Zach Sieler, Jeff Wilson, and Andrew Van Ginkel partnered with the Red Bull Racing team to see if they could handle a tire change during a pit stop. Sieler owned that challenge, and let me tell you, he makes lifting a tire off a car look very easy.
On Cinco de Mayo, the players got a chance to ride along on some hot laps around the track. Jaelan Phillips, Jevon Holland, and Christian Wilkins were taken around in a nice-looking Mercedes, and you could see it in their faces that they felt the adrenaline rush. Wilkins could only put it one way; “fast car go vroom,” and I don’t think there’s a more eloquent way to describe it.
Earlier in the week, posted on the Miami Dolphins’ social media pages, players like Christian Wilkins and more were given a tour around the racetrack, and as a fan of our players, it’s nice to see a side of them where they show off that they can be fans too. Watching Tua meet with Verstappen and exchange jerseys as well as Tyreek Hill and Pierre Gasly, there’s something amazing when athletes from other sports come together. Speaking of the Cheetah, he got fully dressed in race gear, and honestly, when he retires, he might already have a job waiting for him in a racing paddock. With the draft over, the schedule release, and rookie minicamps on the horizon, it’s nice to step away from the football aspect for a while and dive deeper into the fun that our team and players can have with other events occurring at Hard Rock Stadium.
This weekend, take some time to see our beloved home field in a different light as it will be filled with people from all over the globe as they come out to see their favorite teams take the starting grid and hopefully bring home a victory. Ideally, come September, the Miami Dolphins will begin their path to a championship which will make next year’s race day that much sweeter as the team will be able to show off their Super Bowl Trophy to their fans and fans around the world.
