Cadillac's first F1 home race ended with both cars across the line, neither in the points, and a team principal who described his own team's mood as disappointed — the surest sign yet that the rookie American manufacturer's expectations have already moved beyond simply getting to the chequered flag.
Miami was the fourth race weekend in Cadillac's existence, and the first on US soil for a project that General Motors has spent four years pulling together. Valtteri Bottas qualified 20th in 1:31.629, with Sergio Perez 21st in 1:31.967. Both finished outside the points on Sunday, but a fourth-straight race in which both cars completed the distance kept Cadillac's reliability record perfect since their Albert Park debut in March.
Team principal Graeme Lowdon framed the weekend in the language of a team learning faster than its own expectations.
"Overall this weekend has been a step forward in performance, as we've been able to race other teams and be properly in the mix on race pace," Lowdon said. "We started the Sprint strongly and we were hoping to be further up in Qualifying, but weren't able to capitalize fully on the inherent progress. That we are disappointed shows just how far we have come in just four races."
The goodwill from the home crowd was a different story. Cadillac packed grandstands with US-flag merchandise, ran a stars-and-stripes livery cue on the front wing endplates, and turned the paddock into a soft-launch for the brand's wider US racing strategy.
"It's great to feel the support, and I feel as if we're bringing something different to Formula One," Lowdon told Reuters in the build-up. "It seems to resonate with the fans."
Lowdon was equally clear-eyed about where the team still ranks against the established grid.
"We're racing against teams that have done literally thousands of grand prixs," he said. "If there is a thing such as team muscle memory how you operate, that's something it takes time to build."
Returning to the post-race assessment, Lowdon highlighted the data collection that comes with finishing both cars at every round.
"We also know there are areas we need to refine and improve so there is more to come from us," he said. "We've increased the amount of data that we have."
The pace gap to the midfield remains the unavoidable headline. Cadillac's qualifying times were more than two seconds off the front-running Mercedes of Antonelli, and the team's race pace put them squarely behind Audi's recovering F1 entry and behind Sauber-into-Audi's Banbury-supported uplift. But the trajectory — Australia, China, Japan and now Miami without a single DNS or DNF across two cars — is one of the most quietly impressive operational stories in the sport, and it is what Lowdon means when he talks about "team muscle memory."
For the drivers, Miami was a different kind of test. Perez, for whom the South Florida circuit was effectively a second home race, used the weekend as a touchstone for the longer rebuild he and Cadillac signed up for after his Red Bull exit. Bottas, who has now raced for Williams, Mercedes, Sauber and Cadillac, has been the more consistent qualifier of the two through the opening rounds and continued that trend in Miami.
The next stop is Canada, where Cadillac is expected to bring its first significant aerodynamic update of the year. Lowdon's parting line in Miami doubled as the team's working motto.
"That we are disappointed shows just how far we have come in just four races."
Four races in, Cadillac is still last on the grid — and increasingly behaving like a team that does not intend to stay there.
Source: newsformula.one