At a luxurious location in the popular South Beach, instead of a red, a black carpet was rolled out on Saturday evening. From hundreds of metres away, it was clear that something big was happening. Guests were greeted by black-and-white checkered flags, waved by models in silver racing suits. VIPs paraded one after another down the carpet, posing for the assembled photographers. It was an introduction to what awaited them inside.

No expense was spared: from an open bar and luxurious snacks, to performances by ten-time Grammy nominee Janelle Monae, DJs, dancers, and even an aerialist. The launch was kicked off by none other than Terry Crews, after which Mark Reuss (President of General Motors) and Dan Towriss, CEO of TWG Motorsports (which includes Cadillac and Andretti Global) spoke.

They thanked many, among others FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who briefly attended the event. After the speeches, a trailer was spectacularly was introduced to launch the Cadillac F1 team as a brand. That was also the only thing launched that evening: there was no (show) car present and thus no livery was revealed. The drivers will be announced at a later date, but no there was no expectation about that happening yet either.

Among the attendees was – aside from a number of familiar faces from American television – a familiar figure: Mick Schumacher. Although the son of racing legend Michael Schumacher has been mentioned in the past, his presence came as a bit of a surprise. Another driver was notably absent: despite fans gathering outside and chanting his name due to rumours that he would be in Miami, Sergio Perez did not make an appearance at the event.

Of course, Mario Andretti did not miss the event either. The racing legend, now a board member of the Cadillac F1 team, spoke exclusively in Miami to GPblog about, among other things, the current state of affairs at the new team. He mentioned that Perez is still a serious contender for a seat, as previously reported by this site. He also extensively talked about Max Verstappen, who recently became the father of daughter Lily.