As the United States national anthem played at the Miami International Autodrome, Mario Andretti stood in front of Valtteri Bottas’ Cadillac Formula 1 car. Andretti’s right hand rested over his heart as a single Northrop B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber flew overhead.For a long time, Andretti was the American associated with the pinnacle of motorsport. The now-86-year-old competed in F1 from 1968 to 1982, winning the drivers’ world championship in 1978 and 12 grands prix across 14 seasons. And you can’t forget his other feats — winning four IndyCar titles (and the 1969 Indy 500), the 12 hours of Sebring three times in endurance racing and the 1967 Daytona 500 in NASCAR.But next to Andretti and behind him at the Miami Grand Prix were symbols of the new American F1 movement — Dan Towriss, the Indiana businessman who took over the Cadillac team’s birth, cars and their hopes and dreams that they could someday experience the F1 glory Andretti had.The Miami Grand Prix marked a monumental moment for Cadillac, the newest team to join the grid since Haas in 2016. It was the team’s fourth F1 race — and first on home soil. It may be languishing at the back of the grid, but it’s to be expected as a start-up.The American team went from being a tweet from Andretti in February 2022 to being rejected by Formula One Management in January 2024 to receiving approval to join the 2026 grid last spring.In the span of a few years, Cadillac has spent hundreds of millions to build and open one factory — two more are nearing completion — and has grown a team from scratch, pulling talent from around the grid, including its veteran drivers Bottas and Sergio Pérez.Cadillac is a team creating intrigue across the paddock. It is full of F1 veterans intent on helping the team get up to speed quicker than many expect – as The Athletic found out by joining them behind the scenes for race weekend in Miami.The team brought its first big upgrade package to Miami, aimed toward shedding weight and improving aerodynamic performance. But the question of whether the upgrades worked wouldn’t be answered immediately. The team needed real-time conditions across practice, qualifying and the race.Standing inside the team’s post-first practice debrief, it sounded as if Bottas felt the upgrades were working, something John Howard, his race engineer, later confirmed.Engineers from both sides of the garage and from Ferrari, whose engine Cadillac is using, crowded into a small room filled with computers at the back of its hospitality structure, poring over notes from the session. The drivers and their engineers took turns discussing different topics.“It’s the room where all the secrets happen, where all the conclusions and decisions are (being made),” reserve driver Zhou Guanyu said.Inside the room, you would not know it was a brand new team.Sergio Pérez exits the Cadillac garage during practice for the 2026 Miami Formula One Grand Prix at Miami International Autodrome on May 1, 2026 (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)Two veteran drivers sat across from each other, with seasoned race engineers. The communications were clear and concise, and there was a feeling of openness in the air. It didn’t come as a surprise. Towriss explained before the race weekend that there’s no rivalry between Bottas and Pérez, both 36.“They respect and listen to each other,” Towriss says. “They respect each other’s record in Formula 1. You can tell when there’s tension in the air, and it’s not.”Bottas said the project has re-energized him, describing it as “refreshing, in a way, to start with a new team.”