Photos: Cadillac
Formula One tried America in a parking lot once and nobody came. They ran races in a Caesars Palace parking lot in 1981 and 1982. The circuit was tight, confusing, and ran counterclockwise. Mario Andretti called it a wonderful go-kart course. This is not a compliment. Two years, small crowds, then gone. Detroit came next. Dallas in 1984, where Nigel Mansell collapsed from heat exhaustion pushing his dead car across the line. Phoenix tried. Indianapolis ran from 2000 to 2007 until the 2005 tire disaster left six cars on the grid. 120,000+ fans showed up. They had paid full price and got nothing but 6 cars parading around for a processional "race" that Ferrari won easily because there was no competition. Bernie Ecclestone swore never to return. This was not a good look. Americans, who had been beat about for decades, were done.
Something has certainly changed. Austin opened in 2012 and stayed. Miami joined. Vegas came back, this time on the Strip instead of a casino parking lot. It's a different mafia running things now, the kind with less spaghetti and more quarterly earnings calls. Three races, more than any other country.
Cadillac has unveiled their Formula One livery during the Super Bowl. Split down the middle, black on one side, white on the other. A car that looks like it's hedging its bets, which makes sense given the history. The eleventh team dropped during halftime while 133 million people watched and JFK's voice plays over a frosted box in Times Square where it's already being sued by Michael Bay for allegedly stealing his commercial ideas. Nothing says American like a good lawsuit before the season even starts.
Cadillac enters during a rules reset. 2026 brings new technical regulations and everyone starts over. They'll use Ferrari engines for three years while General Motors builds their own power unit in Charlotte. It should be ready by 2029. An American car with an American engine, something that hasn't happened since Phil Hill and Dan Gurney actually competed for wins. Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas will drive. Veterans and winners both, though no great American driver yet despite all the flag-waving.
Will this finally work? The sport knocked on our door for forty years, showed up with parking lot circuits, tire scandals, and summer heat and wondered why we didn't answer. Now the infrastructure exists. The audience grew. The money flows. Maybe this time it sticks.
An eventual American engine in an American car. That's what makes this different from Haas running Ferrari power, different from all the failed attempts in casino parking lots. Maybe this time an American team with American power finally makes Formula One a foundational structure on American soil.
