Where Cadillac, Ford stand in F1 after historic Miami GP debut

Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the #3 Oracle Red Bull Racing RB22 Red Bull Ford, Charles Leclerc of Monaco driving the #16 Scuderia Ferrari SF-26 and Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy driving the #12 Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team W17 lead the field at the start during the F1 Grand Prix of Miami at Miami International Autodrome on May 3, 2026.

“A year later, we've got a car, a couple of races under our belt, and the team's functioning,” said GM President Mark Reuss, who has spearheaded Cadillac F1’s entry. “I couldn't be prouder. It's really an emotional time.”

The Miami paddock buzzed with respect for Cadillac F1’s achievement.

“Credit Cadillac,” said F1 world champion-turned-TV-commentator David Coulthard. They’ve levitated a full Formula One team in the midst of a major (power unit) rules change.”

Given Cadillac’s success over the last two decades in international sportscar racing, the brand’s success in F1 appears only a matter of when, not if. It has won five IMSA Weathertech Manufacturer Championships since 2017 against world-class competition including Porsche, BMW and Acura. Last year, it swept the front row in qualifying at the world’s most prestigious endurance race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France.

Key to Cadillac F1’s confident start was its hiring of two veteran, 36-year-old drivers, Pérez and Bottas, who have raced a 527 Grand Prix between them.

“It’s a big deal,” said Reuss, a trained engineer and race-licensed driver. “You got to have both the human and the math-based simulation bringing (upgraded car) packages to the track every weekend. So we rely heavily on Checo and Valtteri to really bring us their experience — particularly on tracks where we have never run, like Miami.”

Pérez is also an enormously popular figure in his home country of Mexico and brought thousands of Florida Latinos to the Miami GP weekend that drew an estimated 325,000 fans.

“It’s very exciting to be racing for an American team and having all the Latin support here in Miami,” Pérez said in an interview. “To me, it's one of the best races of the year.”

After battling Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso for 16th place Sunday, he was ebullient. “Today we were racing,” said the Mexican driver. “It was a lot of fun fighting Fernando at the end. Overall things are going in the right direction.”

Ford and Red Bull, on the other hand, employ a generational talent, four-time world champion (runner-up in 2025) Verstappen, who is at the top of his game. The 28-year old is joined by a talented cast of drivers including Oracle Red Bull teammate Isaak Hadjar.

Verstappen added to his legend on Sunday.

From second on the grid, he got squeezed into Turn 2 and survived a breathtaking, 360-degree spin — keeping the car going even as he dropped eight places. His push back to the front was interrupted by an early pit stop to replace tires scarred by the spin. Rejoining in 16th place, his charge back through the field to fifth was a race highlight (along with the third straight win by teen phenom Kimi Antonelli with Mercedes F1 team).

“Having Max Verstappen as one of the drivers behind the wheel — it definitely helps us,” said Ford Racing’s Rushbrook. “When I look back to some of the preseason testing, especially the very first test at Barcelona, it's amazing — the processing power that Max has inside his brain in terms of being able to record, remember everything that happens every lap, every turn. He breaks it all down so that the engineers can put into context what's going on. And that just energizes the team to . . . focus on the real problems.”

That input has been crucial at a time of major rules changes. The new season has been a challenge with a 50-50 battery-gas powertrain that has proved difficult to drive with the battery’s constant need for energy regeneration.

The resulting yo-yo passing has led drivers to mock the racing as an expensive version of Mario Kart. There’s a groundswell of support for a return to V-8 engines run on synthetic fuels to meet F1’s commitment to sustainability.

“It's not to the level that Formula One should be at,” said McLaren driver Lando Norris, who finished second to Antonelli on Sunday. “You can’t be flat-out everywhere. So honestly, I don't think you can fix that . . . until you get rid of the battery. So, hopefully, in a few years that's the case.”

That would be music to the Detroit automakers' ears with the Cadillac and Ford brands synonymous with performance V-8s. With the next regulatory change looming in 2029, V-8s are very much on the table.

“It's great to see the FIA and Formula One already talking about what is the next set of regulations,” said Ford’s Rushbrook. “We are a stakeholder in the sport (and) we'll share our point of view. But certainly, as a company that makes a lot of naturally aspirated V-8s, we would love to see a V-8 here.”

Reuss is all-in on V8-power, too. “I love V-8s and . . . the way they sound,” he said. “But we're very respectful — as one of the newer teams — of the investment that was made in the V-6 hybrids. So if Formula One and FIA and the teams say that we're going to (go V-8), we'll be ready.”

Not long ago, GM’s May in North America was consumed with entertaining fans in Indianapolis with Chevrolet-powered IndyCars with a road-course race, Indy 500 qualifying, and the 500 itself.

Now May is also synonymous with F1 in Miami May 3 and Montreal May 24 — while going wheel-to-wheel with rival Ford.

A new motorsports era has dawned.

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.

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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Where Cadillac, Ford stand in F1 after historic Miami GP debut