F1 Miami GP Featured A-Listers, Football Helmets and Even a Little Baseball

Formula 1’s Miami Grand Prix was short on-track drama, but high on off-track movers and shakers.

Here's some of what you may have missed from South Florida"

Leclerc Surprised by Baseball Experience

Ferrari’s drivers had different sporting experiences during the build-up in Miami. Charles Leclerc professed his love for the American culture, telling Autoweek that the country “isn’t scared to do something of their own” with the Miami GP. He also had a trip to the Miami Marlins game and threw a few pitches: “it was fun, I really enjoyed it, and catching is much more difficult than I thought!”

On race day Leclerc also had a special guest for his usual warm-up of playing around with a soccer ball—none other than David Beckham briefly replaced Leclerc’s trainer in having a kick around with Leclerc.

Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz was heavily invested in Real Madrid’s match in the Champions League last Wednesday but rued “I was in the middle of a Shell event and I had to miss those five minutes of chaos!” he said, referring to his team turning around the tie against Manchester City in extraordinary fashion.

Plenty of A-Listers

Miami was always going to be heavy on the celebrity list. The paddock was packed through much of Saturday and Sunday, making even short walks problematic, while the grid on Sunday was jammed.

Among the attendees across the weekend were Michelle Obama, Michael Douglas, Bad Bunny, Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, Karlie Kross, Dwayne Wade and Gabrielle Union, Eileen Gu, Juan Martin del Potro, Matt Damon, Dan Marino, David Beckham, Tom Brady, Michael Jordan, DJ Khaled, Pharrell, Venus and Serena Williams, James Corden, Paris Hilton, Patrick Mahomes and Paolo Banchero among others.

From a motorsport perspective ex-F1 legends—notably Mario Andretti, Mika Hakkinen and Jenson Button—littered the paddock, as did a plethora of IndyCar racers, some of whom were former F1 racers catching up with old friends.

“The helmet we had on the podium,” said race winner Max Verstappen, referring to the NFL-inspired lid, “we needed that in the paddock!”

Vettel: Act Now or Swim Later

Sebastian Vettel’s proactivity on societal issues has been evident in recent years, from embarking on bee preservation projects in his native Germany, trying to understand waste management in England, while also promoting messages relating to equality and diversity.

At Miami’s opening party Vettel was the only driver not in team kit as he donned a shirt that read: ‘Miami 2060—First Race Underwater’, along with a cartoon of a helmeted driver wearing a snorkel, with a further message of "Act Now or Swim Later."

Miami—and its surrounding region—is at chronic risk of flooding in the event of rising sea levels. Vettel also sported a helmet throughout the race weekend that carried the same message, while as he has done since the opening round the German stripe on his helmet was replaced by Ukraine’s blue and yellow.

Vettel is this Thursday due to be a guest on Question Time, a show broadcast by the BBC in the U.K., which usually deals with political and social matters, providing another opportunity to demonstrate his eloquence and understanding of global issues.

Andretti Trying to Drum Up Support