Last year Miami featured a glitzy opening ceremony with drivers presented to the crowd one by one by American rapper LL Cool J, flanked by Miami Dolphins cheerleaders, while will.i.am conducted an orchestra playing a song he had co-produced specifically for the race with Lil Wayne.
The ceremony was met with mixed reviews by fans, especially its predominantly European TV audience, while several drivers also had misgivings about being asked to spend an extended amount of time in the Miami heat in their race overalls.
