Miami GP Paddock Dresscode Causes an Uproar in America, F1 Celebrity Under Fire Tries to Justify

Miami GP has been the talk of the town even before the race weekend has begun. From threatening to ban Donald Trump’s entry to remembering their Taylor Swift past to announcing a star-studded musical lineup consisting of Eminem and Sting to Camila Cabello teaming up with Susie Wolff-the first American race of 2024 campaign is all set to roll out the red carpet for the F1 circus this weekend. But the most recent ‘uproar’ around the Miami GP is because of the paddock fashion choices captured by F1’s veteran photographer.

A picture is worth a thousand words and probably that is why Instagram is booming the way it is and has almost become a part of people’s lifestyle. How can Formula 1 be far behind? Interestingly, the fans have left more than a thousand words on F1’s veteran photographer Miami Fashion Vibes post.

YouTuber, Formula 1 photographer, and journalist Kym Illman’s popularity is no secret. He has a strong following of 445,000 people on his Instagram account where he often posts his point of view and captures from a race weekend. After traveling for almost 40 hours and being greeted by airline staff with a sweet note, the Australian arrived in Miami. But the fans weren’t receptive to his post that was uploaded 4 days ago. Instead, it received a backlash.

Kym Illman patiently replied to every fan’s outraged query over the Miami GP outfit

Mr. Illman took to his Instagram to post “MIAMI FASHION VIBES”. The post consisting of 10 slides was captioned, “This race tends to produce some of the most interesting female fashion we see all year. Here are some examples from the first two years and to ensure you see this year’s offerings, make sure you’re following this page; your front seat to paddock action.” And the first picture of a woman in beachwear caused confusion and uproar. Take a look at what people commented:

One user wrote, “It’s F1 race and you came there half naked,” to which Mr. Illman replied, “She was at the beach club. That’s how everyone dressed there.”

Another user accused the photographer of chasing clout. The user said, “Trying to get like. I don’t even get it why you take pictures of celebrities or women off the paddock. Show some cool pics of the cars or pits, not this stuff,” and Kym justified his post by stating, “The public want it. And as you’d well know, you have to give the public what they want”

The emotion of displeasure echoed amongst most people who commented. A comment read, “WTF man do Americans don’t have the money to buy clothes. First picture is literally naked,” and the Australian photographer said, “Everyone at the trackside beach club was like this”

A shocked fan commented, “What was the woman thinking, how has that become acceptable? Can you imagine if a man was wearing something similar. Just ridiculous, I’m surprised you posted it,” but Illman patiently explained to most outraged fans why that outfit was picked by him to represent Miami fashion. He said, “They were wearing their swimsuits, it was at the Hard Beach Club, Miami is the only Race to have such a thing.”

A fan even went to the length of suggesting to the reputed photographer what to post. They said, “@kymillman can you stick post the cars drivers and etc like Mark Sutton!” Kym said, “Hardly post any car shots. They don’t do well at all.” Probably this was the most suitable explanation as to why the veteran photographer posts about people and the culture of every paddock instead of car pictures despite being an F1 photographer.

What are your expectations from the upcoming Miami GP race weekend?