ooooIYKYK, ISSUE #oo37
There’s a certain symmetry to Audi launching its premium Turn 1 Club at the 2026 Miami Grand Prix.
Miami has always understood indulgence. In the 1980s it came wrapped in linen suits, neon lights and Ferraris. In modern Formula 1,, it comes wrapped in climate control, curated hospitality and a $9,785 three-day pass overlooking one of the most dramatic corners on the circuit.
Call it a Miami Vice — not the television show with incredible automotive product placement, but indulgence in racing… with incredible automotive product placement.
THE PRICE TAKES POLE POSITION
When Audi revealed pricing for its Turn 1 Club experience, the figure immediately stood out: $9,785 plus tax for the three-day weekend, May 1–3, 2026.
For Audi racing fans who haven’t ever attended a Formula 1 Grand Prix weekend, that figure probably feels a bit unrealistic. But Miami’s F1 weekend, much like most F1 Grand Prix weekends, operates on two parallel tracks: the traditional race ticket and the lifestyle event layered on top of it. The Audi Turn 1 Club appears to be positioned firmly in the second category.
THE JUST GO TO THE RACE OPTION
Even if a hospitality program like the Audi and other teams offer isn’t for you, there is still a straightforward way to do Miami.
Three-day grandstand tickets generally land somewhere between the high hundreds and the mid-thousands depending on location and cover. For roughly $1,000 to $1,700, you can secure a reserved seat, walk the circuit, attend concerts and experience the same race weekend atmosphere as everyone else.
You’ll feel the heat. You’ll wait in lines. You’ll plan your own meals. But you’ll see the same cars, the same first-lap chaos and the same checkered flag.
For many, that’s more than enough.
WHERE RACE WEEKEND BECOMES A VICE
Step into hospitality and the economics shift.
At Miami, upper-tier club and lounge access regularly pushes into five figures for a three-day pass. Dedicated indoor spaces, premium food and beverage, elevated sightlines and controlled access create a fundamentally different environment from the grandstands. In that context, Audi’s $9,785 price lands squarely among its peers rather than above them.
The Turn 1 Club itself is built as a three-story structure overlooking the circuit’s first corner — a braking zone where overtakes are attempted and opening-lap drama tends to unfold. Guests move between open-air viewing decks and indoor, air-conditioned levels without losing sight of the track. Premium hospitality is included. Special appearances and exclusive programming are layered in. Keepsakes mark the occasion.
THE TURN 1 CLUB TRADITION
We’re not 100% certain when Audi first dubbed a hospitality installation the “Turn 1 Club”, though the it most notably matches a concept the team would deploy at the 12 Hours of Sebring. It would later add another viewing space directly adjacent to turn 1 and near the iconic Dunlop Bridge at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Most race fans can tell you that the first lap of a race is often the most exciting. Most drivers can tell you it’s the first turn that can be the most harried given everyone’s tightened up and feeling aggressive whether that’s on the start or upon any restart following a safety car. Turn 1 is a choice position and Audi, the brand once known for a “1” on the hood ornament of its earliest cars, is a regular in this space.
No doubt team members and even drivers are likely to show up there. Any celebrities who are guests of Audi may also pop in. And as for the layout, we did zoom and enhance on the CAD imagery of the Turn 1 Club and notice what looks like Concept C parked in the space below the building. The official word we received was that the image was “just a CAD” and “not representative of the final layout”. If Concept C is planned to make a showing, Audi’s not prepared to share that just yet.
WHY MIAMI MAKES THIS WORK
Miami isn’t Monaco, but it understands spectacle. The event has positioned itself as a destination race from day one — part sporting contest, part cultural moment given the celebrity crowd it always seems to attract. Exclusive hospitality is central to the brand of the Miami Grand Prix weekend.
Audi’s presence amplifies that dynamic. The 2026 season marks the American race debut of the Audi Revolut F1 Team. An Audi Grand Prix racecar hasn’t turned a competitive wheel in the United States in 89 years when Bernd Rosemeyer took victory at Long Island’s Vanderbilt Cup in an Auto Union Type C. There’s no question this moment will be historic.
Audi’s Turn 1 Club then is a physical ground zero of that return. So, while most anyone can buy spectator tickets and get the basic experience, guest of the Audi Turn 1 Club will be immersed inside an Audi branded environment tied to this milestone for the marque.
Scarcity adds to the equation. Spaces like this are limited, intentionally so. Exclusivity is part of this formula.
TWO DIFFERENT MIAMI STORIES
In practical terms, fans planning Miami 2026 are choosing between two experiences including levels of intimacy they may share with the brand and its new team.
One is navigating the circuit, sweating through qualifying and high-fiving strangers when the lights go out. It’s immersive, energetic and comparatively attainable.
The other is watching the same first corner from an elevated deck with a drink in hand, retreating indoors when the sun peaks and hearing from insiders during curated programming. If previous hospitality efforts at Le Mans or Sebring are comparable, guests may even get to meet key members of the team including drivers. It’s controlled, comfortable… and it’s expensive.
Both are valid. Both are authentically Formula 1 in 2026.
THE REAL QUESTION
So is $9,785 excessive?
For a race ticket, absolutely. For Miami hospitality, not really.
That’s the vice of modern Formula 1 in a destination city such as Miami. The sport offers access at multiple levels, and the gap between them is wide. The Turn 1 Club simply occupies the upper rung of a ladder that Miami has built deliberately.
In the end, it comes down to appetite. Some fans want to be in the grandstands. Others want the lounge, the air conditioning, the curated vantage point and exclusivity at Turn 1.
In Miami, indulgence has always been part of the atmosphere. In 2026, it just happens to come with one of the best views, not to mention the first American opportunity, of an Audi R26 turning a wheel in heat.
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