There's good news... and then there's bad news.
The good news is that heavy overnight rain has washed away almost all the rubber laid over the previous couple of days, which means that what was already promising to be a tense start just got that little bit more so.
On the other hand, the bad news is that not having learned its lesson at COTA in 2017, when boxing announcer Michael Buffer introduced the drivers to the crowd ahead of the race, a ceremony ahead of today's event will see American rapper LL Cool J introduce the boys... in five groups of four. After which will come the national anthem.
Swiftly moving on, as a precaution Ferrari opted to change the gearbox in Leclerc's car following his crash yesterday, the change having been made without penalty.
A couple of hours ago there was some light drizzle but nothing of any significance and it is thought that the rain previously being this afternoon predicted will not now arrive until long after the chequered flag.
LL Cool J aside, quite a few of the teams will be happy to get today's race out of the way and move on to Imola and the triple-header, not least Mercedes which plans the first stage of its update programme.
Both the drivers and team boss Toto Wolff have made no secret of how they feel about the W14, and today is likely to be about damage limitation.
Damage limitation is also likely to be the name of the game at McLaren, while Alpine, which got both drivers into Q3, will simply be hoping for an incident free afternoon.
With overtaking a major risk - even before last night's rain - the start was always going to be crucial, and other than the fact that we have Alonso very much in the mix, it's worth noting that neither he nor Perez or Sainz has a teammate close by to give support.
However, should that wily old fox Alonso get the jump on his rivals it could be an interesting afternoon.
Of course, Leclerc and Verstappen, starting from seventh and ninth are going to be worth watching, but this is a track that punishes the slightest mistake, as the Ferrari driver will testify.
Indeed, we've had offs, near misses and other incidents all weekend, following the merest deviation from the racing line.
Of course, the ever evolving track conditions, not to mention the red flag mean that we have some surprises at the front of the grid, not least Magnussen and Bottas, and, to a lesser extent, Gasly.
There is little room in F1 for sentiment, especially these days when it is all about money, but surely nobody would begrudge these three heading home with a few points.
Sick to death as were are of "the vibe", Miami is an interesting track. Yes, it is as featureless as many of the other new additions to the calendar, whilst also clearly intended for the corporate guest and celebs so beloved of Stefano and his team, but the temperatures, combined with that track surface and some challenging corners, make it an interesting track.
That said, one cannot help but shudder at the news that officials are in talks to turn the event into a night race, a move which would surely be purely about "the vibe".
According to Pirelli, as was the case last year, the fastest race strategy is a one-stopper, starting on mediums and switching hards between laps 12 and 20. A two-stopper is also worth considering: starting on the mediums, switching to hards between laps 10 and 16, and finishing on the softs from laps 35 to 43. An alternative could be with the softs for the last 11 to 16 laps of the race.
Of course, bearing in mind what we have already said, the teams will have to consider the strong possibility of a safety car, given that last year's Grand Prix was stopped twice.
The pitlane opens and the drivers begin to head out. Other than being overcast, it is noticeably windy.
An early lock-up for Hamilton, while Alonso is the first to take his place on the grid, the Spaniard clearly can't wait to get on with it.
Air temperature is 27 degrees C, while the track temperature is 36 degrees. There is a 10% chance of rain.
There's late drama in the shape of a water leak in the pitlane near the Aston Martin garage which has resulted in a large wet patch in the middle of the pitlane.
Needless to say, the pre-race ceremony is every bit as cringe as expected. And as for the national anthem... even the Pitpass cats covered their ears.
"Feels like a headwind into Turn 1," reports Hamilton.
OK, Perez, Alonso, Sainz, Magnussen, Gasly, Russell, Leclerc, Bottas, Albon, de Vries and Sargeant start on mediums. Ocon, Verstappen, Hulkenberg, Hamilton, Zhou, Tsunoda and Stroll are on hards, while Norris and Piastri are on softs. Alonso is on used mediums, while Stroll is on used hards, all the other tyres are brand spanking new.
They head off on the formation lap, all getting away cleanly.
Perez leads the field on to the grid. Russell already complaining of "lots of vibrations". And they aint good.
They're away. Perez gets the jump on Alonso, and as they head into Turn 1, the Mexican leads the Spaniard with Sainz tucked in behind and Magnussen sandwiched between Gasly and Russell.
At the back Norris runs wide in Turn 1 after being hit by de Vries after the AlphaTauri driver locks-up and collects the unsuspecting McLaren driver.
At the end of Lap 1, Perez leads Alonso, Sainz, Gasly, Russell, Leclerc, Magnussen, Bottas, Verstappen and Ocon.
Piastri has already made up 5 positions and is now running 14th.
Verstappen passes Bottas for 8th, as Perez builds a 1.3s lead.
"Think about the plan," Verstappen is told.
Sargeant pits at the end of Lap 2, the American changing his front wing.
Magnussen has passed Leclerc however, the Monegasque, who has Verstappen right behind, fights back. Courtesy of DRS and a good tow, the Dutchman takes advantage of the squabble to pass both cars as Leclerc struggles and eventually loses out to the Haas river.
Ocon passes Hulkenberg for tenth.
Hamilton complains of an unspecified issue which he feels will prevent him finishing the race. "Everything looks OK at the moment," he is assured."
Norris pits at the end of Lap 4 and his McLaren teammate a lap later. Both switch to hards.
Hamilton is concerned that his front wing might be damaged, but he is told that it might just be the wind.
Sainz is all over Alonso who is now 1.4s down on the leader.
A mistake sees Ocon cut the corner at Turn 5.
"OK, feels Plan A minus 12," reports Alonso.
Lap 7 sees Verstappen post a new fastest lap (32.555) as he closes to within 0.571s of Russell.
Hulkenberg runs wide as he battles Bottas for 10th.
Verstappen makes short work of Russell as the Briton continues to complain of a "big vibration".
The Dutchman makes short work of Gasly as they enter Turn 17, with Russell following through moments later.
Remember, Verstappen is on the hard tyre.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Miami here.
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