Cadillac Brings First Major Upgrade to Home F1 Race

Cadillac Brings First Major Upgrade to Home F1 RaceCadillac F1 Team

Cadillac will contest its first grand prix on home soil in the United States this weekend, with optimism that a sizable aerodynamic upgrade can lift the team closer to the mid-pack.

Cadillac has operated towards the rear of the field across its first three grands prix, regularly having only the beleaguered Aston Martin cars for company.

Cadillac has gradually ticked off milestones across its opening three grands prix, including its first race finish, first double finish, and first finish on the lead lap.

These may all be minor accomplishments for a team with grand long-term ambitions but they are stepping stones considering the scale of the task of simply going from concept to reality.

Cadillac is bringing its first major aerodynamic update to the fourth event of the campaign in Miami, having started the year with a baseline package, owing to the nascent nature of its project.

Cadillac F1 Team

That includes updated front wing flaps and end plates, a new floor, new floor boards, and a new rear brake drum for the MAC-26.

“It’s a mixture of aero and a bit of weight saving as well,” Team Principal Graeme Lowdon said of the revised MAC-26 on Thursday. “It’s reasonably sizable, but of course the problem is we don’t know what everyone else is doing, so the only thing that makes any difference is that relative delta, but we’re reasonably hopeful.

“It’s never ideal when you have a fairly substantial upgrade package and it’s a sprint weekend, because you don}t really have an awful lot of time to analyze it, but there should be enough.”

Lowdon went on to emphasize the importance of Cadillac’s first upgrade package of note, with the results critical to its medium-term prospects and development path.