Miami — Cadillac F1 and Ford Racing may one day go toe-to-toe at the front of the Formula One Miami Grand Prix.

But they will take very different paths to get there.

In a historic Detroit first, General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. motorsports divisions squared off on U.S. soil in the world’s premier open-wheel series Sunday, with some 80 million fans worldwide watching on TV. In searing Miami heat on the Hard Rock NFL Stadium’s Miami International Autodrome track, Ford Racing partner Red Bull Racing and its superstar driver Max Verstappen qualified on the front row and finished fifth after an epic, race-long battle with Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari rivals.

Further down the order, Cadillac F1 drivers Sergio “Checo” Pérez and Valtteri Bottas finished 16^th and 18^th, , respectively, in the 22-car field — marking the third consecutive GP that both Cadillacs finished.

The contrast is by design.

View this post on Instagram

Ford has been part of the F1 tapestry for decades, including its supply of successful Cosworth engines from 1967-2013, and in a Jaguar team partnership from 2000-2004. Its return to the series as a powertrain (power unit in F1-speak) partner with title contender Oracle Red Bull (and junior team Racing Bulls) is the latest chapter as they seek to add a 13th world championship.

Cadillac’s maiden season in F1 is the start of a long journey as GM builds a performance-based luxury brand on par with other F1 manufacturers like Merc, Ferrari, McLaren, Audi and Aston Martin. With co-owner TWG Motorsports, it is assembling a full team from the ground up — including its own, in-house powertrain due in 2029.

“It was the right time for us to get back into the sport. F1 is still the pinnacle of motorsport and automotive innovation,” said Ford Racing General Manager Will Ford, son of Chairman Bill Ford, in the Miami GP paddock alongside Ford Racing chief Mark Rushbrook.  “We obviously have a very proud history in Formula One.”

Added Rushbrook: “Part of our decision when we were coming back was: how do we come back in? Choosing Red Bull Racing as our partner (on) the power unit was a big part of that decision, because we know they're winners . . . and they're going to continue to win championships.”

While Ford jumped right into Red Bull’s mature, England-based racing operation and development of its hybrid V-6 power unit, Indianapolis-based Cadillac F1 was birthed just a year ago after F1 approval.

“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 16^th 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 16^th 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.

.

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