Cadillac hopes to take a decisive step in its young F1 journey this weekend by unveiling its first major upgrade package in Miami, the team’s first race in the USA.
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This Miami Grand Prix serves as both the team’s home race and a true benchmark at the start of the season.
After a difficult start to the campaign, the American outfit took advantage of the unexpected five-week break — caused by the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia races — to reorganize and accelerate the development of its car, the MAC-26.
In Florida, the results of this work will finally be visible on track.
A major update
The scale of the upgrades brought by Cadillac is not understated. Team principal Graeme Lowdon described this package as both extensive and multi-faceted, targeting several key performance areas.
“We have a fairly substantial upgrade package, Lowdon told journalists. It is spread across different parts of the car. The main areas probably concern the floor, but there are also changes to the front and rear brake ducts, the front wing, as well as many elements distributed across the entire car.”
“It’s a mix of aerodynamics and also weight reduction, he added. The whole thing is quite significant, but the problem is that we don’t know what others are doing. What matters is the relative delta. But we are reasonably optimistic.”
Tight timing
The focus on the floor — always an extremely sensitive aerodynamic element under the current regulations — indicates that Cadillac is looking to improve downforce efficiency. The gains related to weight reduction could bring progressive benefits across several performance aspects.
However, the timing complicates the task. Miami hosts a sprint format, which greatly limits the available practice time to analyze these new parts.
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“It’s never ideal to introduce such a significant package during a sprint weekend, because we have little time to evaluate it. But with a slightly longer first practice session, it should be enough”, Lowdon added.
Building under pressure
Beyond the parts themselves, this upgrade represents something deeper for Cadillac: proof that its operational structure is beginning to function under the intense demands of Formula 1. The team managed to bring a complete set of parts and spares to the circuit, a notable challenge for a team still in its building phase.
“It’s tight in some areas. There are many elements in this upgrade, it’s not like producing five copies of a single part. There are a huge number of changes in different zones,” he explained. “This is only our fourth Grand Prix. Ferrari has competed in more than 1,100, and even Haas has over 200, while being a relatively recent team.”
“So bringing such a significant upgrade is very encouraging, because what you see on track is the result of work done in our various facilities elsewhere,” Lowdon continued. “It’s not just about running a racing team, but also the entire production chain: manufacturing, processes, procedures, supply, internal production. All of this is completely new. So we will watch the performance of these upgrades closely, because we still have many things to validate that other teams have already mastered for a long time.”
First points in sight?
Currently 10th in the constructors’ standings, Cadillac mainly competes at the back of the grid alongside Aston Martin. Its best result so far — a 13th place achieved by Valtteri Bottas in China — illustrates the scale of the challenge.
Miami could, however, mark a turning point. With a complete package finally on track and several weeks of development behind it, Cadillac is not just aiming for marginal progress, but a real leap forward in competitiveness.
It remains to be seen if these improvements will immediately translate into results. But for a team still in its building phase, this weekend is a crucial test — not only of performance but also of progress.
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