The 2026 F1 Miami Grand Prix kicks off Friday at the Miami International Autodrome, and the special-livery cycle is just getting started. Cadillac is the only team to drop a full one-off car livery so far, with the Stars and Stripes treatment for the team's first-ever F1 home race. Mercedes has unveiled a purple race-suit moment with new partner Nu, and McLaren has teased a Sega-themed Miami poster that has fans speculating about a Sonic-inspired livery. We are tracking every reveal here and grading each one as it lands. For the sister tracker on the Suzuka weekend, see our F1 Japanese Grand Prix special liveries breakdown.
We will update this post as more liveries drop through Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at the Miami International Autodrome.
1. Cadillac · Stars and Stripes Debut
The 2026 Miami Grand Prix is Cadillac's first F1 home race, and as the only American-headquartered team on the grid it makes sense that they would do something special for the weekend. The execution is intentionally subtle. Cadillac did not flip the whole car. The signature black and white color scheme stays intact, the MAC-26 chassis (named for Mario Andretti) keeps its standard base treatment, and the patriotic touches stay in carefully chosen spots. The front wing carries 50 stars, one for each American state. The rear wing reads "USA" alongside red, white, and blue accents. The wingtips pick up subtle hints of red and blue. Drivers Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez are running matching American-themed race suits to complete the look.
We actually like the restraint here. A lot of "country home race" liveries go full theme-park flag wrap and lose the team's identity in the process. Cadillac's version reads as still very much a Cadillac car at every camera angle, with American flag elements layered on top instead of swapping the whole car out. The wingtip red-and-blue hint is the best detail. Subtle, smart, and exactly what a debut-year American team should be doing on its first home weekend.
Standard Cadillac Livery vs Miami Special
Before · Standard 2026 Cadillac F1 livery
After · Miami GP one-off livery
The base of the car is identical in both photos. The Miami changes are the front wing star pattern, the rear wing "USA" wordmark, the red and blue wingtip accents, and the matching driver race suits for Bottas and Perez. Compared to past country-themed F1 home race liveries that have gone full repaint, Cadillac's version is one of the most restrained debuts you will see on the grid.
More Photos of the Cadillac Miami GP Livery
Images via Formula1.com
Cadillac F1 Race Suits for Miami
The matching American-themed race suits for Bottas and Perez are the part of this drop you will actually see on the broadcast feed during driver intros and parc fermé. Same restraint as the car. Black and white base with patriotic accents layered on top instead of a full theme swap.
Grade: B-
2. Mercedes · Purple Nu Race Suits (Suits Only · Leaked)
Mercedes confirmed a purple race-suit partnership with Nu, the Brazilian digital financial services platform that signed a multi-year global deal with the team in January 2026, ahead of the Miami weekend. The team has not yet released official photos of the suits, but leaked imagery showing what George Russell and Kimi Antonelli will wear has already surfaced on X via @fiagirly.
It is important to flag what this is not. Mercedes has not changed the W17 livery for Miami. The purple is on the suits and the marketing only, with the car staying close to the standard Silver Arrows look. We are still including it on the tracker because the suit-and-helmet category is part of the broader Miami special-livery cycle, but on a wide camera shot the Mercedes will look like any other weekend. We will update this section with official photos as soon as Mercedes releases them.
Grade: Pending Official Photos
3. McLaren · Sega-Themed Miami Poster (Livery Unconfirmed)
McLaren released a Miami GP poster designed by illustrator Matt Taylor featuring the MCL40 alongside Sonic the Hedgehog, gold rings from the video game franchise, and a silhouette of the 1993 McLaren MP4/8 that Ayrton Senna drove to his legendary Donington Park victory in the rain. Sega is McLaren's official gaming partner. The Donington connection is the giveaway: Sega was the race sponsor at Donington in 1993 and Senna received a Sonic trophy on the podium that day.
McLaren has not confirmed a Miami special livery. The poster could be promotional artwork only, OR it could be teasing a Sonic-themed retro livery for the team's 1000th Formula 1 Grand Prix at Hard Rock Stadium this weekend, which is the milestone the team is celebrating in Miami. We are listing this as a tease rather than a confirmed livery, and we will update this card the moment McLaren officially announces or rules it out.
Grade: Pending Reveal
Not Yet Revealed (As of 2026-04-28)
The following teams have not announced a Miami GP one-off livery as of Tuesday morning. Several have run Miami specials in past seasons, so reveals are still possible through Wednesday and Thursday. We will add cards as they drop:
- Ferrari — Has run Miami specials in past seasons (the asymmetric HP-themed treatment in 2025). No 2026 Miami reveal yet.
- Racing Bulls — Did the Spring Edition Red Bull can collab at Suzuka earlier this season. No 2026 Miami reveal yet.
- Sauber/Stake — Has run art-car-style Miami specials in past seasons. No 2026 Miami reveal yet.
- Williams — Sometimes do partnership-driven specials. No 2026 reveal yet.
- Aston Martin — Possible Aramco or PIF-related Miami drop. No 2026 reveal yet.
- Alpine — No announcement.
- Red Bull Racing — Main team rarely runs full one-off liveries.
- Haas — No announcement.
If your team is missing from the revealed section above, refresh this post Wednesday or Thursday. We update each time a new livery drops.
The Verdict
The verdict will land here once we have all the reveals in and grades locked across the board. As of Tuesday morning the field is wide open. Cadillac is the storyline of the weekend because it is the team's first home race and the only confirmed full car livery so far. Mercedes brought race-suit theatre with Nu but kept the W17 unchanged. McLaren has the most intriguing tease on the grid with the Sonic poster. We will close out this section after the rest of the field reveals (or doesn't) and after a weekend of seeing the cars on track under the Miami sun.
Frequently Asked Questions About F1 Miami GP 2026 Special Liveries
How many F1 teams have confirmed special liveries for the 2026 Miami Grand Prix?
As of Tuesday April 28, only Cadillac has confirmed a full one-off car livery for the 2026 Miami Grand Prix, with the Stars and Stripes-themed treatment for the team's first home race. Mercedes has confirmed purple race suits with new partner Nu but has not changed the W17 car livery. McLaren has teased a Sonic-themed Miami GP poster that hints at a possible retro livery, but McLaren has not officially announced one. We expect more reveals through Wednesday and Thursday and will update this tracker as they drop.
Why is Cadillac running a special livery for the Miami GP?
The 2026 Miami Grand Prix is Cadillac's first home race in Formula 1. The team made its F1 debut in 2026 as the grid's eleventh entry and the only American-headquartered team. The Stars and Stripes-themed Miami one-off, presented by partner TWG AI, integrates 50 stars (one per US state) on the front wing and "USA" lettering on the rear wing in red, white, and blue. The chassis is named MAC-26 in tribute to Mario Andretti.
What did Mercedes reveal for the 2026 Miami Grand Prix?
Mercedes revealed three custom purple race suits for drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli on Monday April 27, in partnership with Brazilian digital financial services platform Nu. The reveal is race-suit only. The team's W17 car livery is unchanged for Miami and will run in the standard Silver Arrows treatment.
Is McLaren confirmed to run a Sonic the Hedgehog livery at the 2026 Miami GP?
McLaren has not officially confirmed a Sonic-themed Miami GP livery as of Tuesday April 28. The team released a Miami GP poster designed by illustrator Matt Taylor featuring Sonic the Hedgehog, gold rings, and a silhouette of the 1993 McLaren MP4/8. The Donington Park connection is the source of the speculation, since Sega was the 1993 race sponsor and Ayrton Senna received a Sonic trophy on the podium that day. Sega is McLaren's official gaming partner. The 2026 Miami GP is also McLaren's 1000th Formula 1 Grand Prix.
When is the 2026 F1 Miami Grand Prix?
The 2026 Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix takes place at the Miami International Autodrome in Miami Gardens, Florida, with practice and qualifying running Friday and Saturday and the race scheduled for Sunday. The Miami GP is the seventh round of the 2026 F1 World Championship and the first of three United States rounds on the calendar (Miami, Austin, Las Vegas).
Will Ferrari run a special livery at the 2026 Miami GP?
Ferrari has not announced a 2026 Miami GP special livery as of Tuesday morning. The team did run a one-off asymmetric blue-and-white treatment for Miami in 2025 to mark the first year of HP as title sponsor, which was the first asymmetric Ferrari F1 car in 75 years of team history. Whether a 2026 follow-up is coming this week has not been confirmed. We will update this post if Ferrari drops a one-off through the week.