F1 in Miami: What the Region’s Developers Can Learn

April 30, 2026

Viewpoint Architecture & Design Development

For starters, choose your pit crew wisely.

As Formula 1 roars into Miami this May, the city will get more than a high-octane event. By drawing more than 240,000 fans across the three-day extravaganza, F1 can create wide-ranging economic benefits. The Miami Grand Prix already has injected $1 billion into the local economy since 2022 and signals South Florida’s emergence as a global hub for commerce, culture and investment. What happens next will determine whether the region stays on track.

It’s no secret that the region faces challenges—from traffic headaches to increasingly extreme weather. Developers and public agencies need to plan for subsidence, rising demands on the electric grid and the twin pressures of flooding and water stress. Decisions made today will define the region’s resilience and growth trajectory for decades to come.

Today, billions of dollars are flowing into residential towers, mixed-use developments, commercial space and entertainment districts as corporate relocations and infrastructure modernization reshape the landscape. To manage this increasingly complex development, AI-powered platforms now support everything from modeling and data integration to predictive analytics that inform how infrastructure is designed, operated and retrofitted.

The question is not whether AI will be used. It is whether it will be used well.

Coincidentally, Formula 1 offers a useful lesson for developers and owners using AI to shape the region’s future.

The F1 model

In Formula 1 racing, strict technical regulations mean that all competitive cars are essentially the same. Yet, some drivers become legendary. Why? Because tools don’t win races. How you use them does. When technology becomes table stakes, performance depends on the judgment of the driver and crew.

In racing, the driver steers an extraordinarily advanced machine toward a clear objective. Similarly, when it comes to property and buildings, owners need to set the vision and steer the course. The design and delivery team functions as the racing crew.

A high‑performing F1 team brings together specialists in various domains and integrates their work into one high‑performance vehicle. In infrastructure, that means planners, engineers, designers, digital specialists and sustainability experts work as one.

The full team should use AI to power the engine, accelerating insight while applying engineering judgment and accountability. Most teams now have access to AI “race cars,” which means AI alone is not a differentiator. What separates winning outcomes is how clearly the owner defines the destination, and the team they assemble to help get there. Victory will go to the organizations with the best people, not the best tech. So, choose your pit crew wisely. Are they using AI to challenge themselves? Can they field a cross-disciplinary team? Are they simply planning for today, or are they modeling different forward-looking scenarios based on real data about Florida’s potential future?

These questions are critical. Infrastructure is a multi-decade investment. The difference between mediocre and exceptional performance can represent tens of millions of dollars for building owners, and significantly shape the region’s trajectory

Infrastructure as a growth driver

For the region to continue to grow, we must keep finding new ways to deliver value. That means accelerating efforts to attract top talent and collaborating to create a regional talent cluster that is AI-enabled and uniquely suited to tackle the complex infrastructure challenges that could constrain long-term economic growth.

While a regional blueprint could be helpful, public and private projects alike should already be working to get ahead of these challenges. It starts with spotting great drivers and assembling the right teams around them. We need to do more than host F1: We need to learn from it.

Alastair MacGregor is a senior vice president and business line executive for property and buildings at WSP in the U.S., where he leads multidisciplinary building teams delivering complex projects across the country.

WSP