By Alan Baldwin
MIAMI, April 30 (Reuters) - Formula One's newest team Cadillac are hoping to step up at their first home race in Miami this weekend.
The General Motors-backed outfit has brought "a fairly substantial upgrade package" to the Hard Rock Stadium ahead of the sprint weekend, now the fourth round of the season after April races in the Middle East were cancelled.
"It's spread over different parts of the car so probably the main area is the floor, but there are also changes on front and rear
brakes, front wing as well," team principal Graeme Lowdon told reporters on Thursday. "It's a mixture of aero and a bit of weight saving as well. It's reasonably sizeable.
"We'll be watching the performance of the upgrade with great interest because there's an awful lot that we need to verify that other teams will be well down the route of doing," he added.
Lowdon said the break from racing had enabled Cadillac to do things they would not otherwise have had time for, without the stresses of a race weekend.
The Ferrari-powered team, backed by General Motors and with experienced Finn Valtteri Bottas and Mexican Sergio Perez at the wheel, have already outperformed some expectations this season and are ahead of Aston Martin in the standings although still a long way from scoring a point.
"I hope that we can make a bigger step than some other teams," said Bottas. "Because we should be able to do that in theory from where we started. So that's the goal.
"In the first three races I felt like every race was getting smoother and smoother, less and less issues."
Lowdon said the targets remained the same as before -- to improve in every area and build experience in a team starting from scratch but with big ambitions.
"The team still needs to grow quite a bit, so we are looking to reinforce," he said, adding that the bulk of recruitment would now be in the United States.
Cadillac have brought a new U.S.-themed livery for the race, one of three home rounds for the team along with Austin and Las Vegas.
"It's great to feel the support, and I feel as if we're bringing something different to Formula One," said Lowdon. "It seems to resonate with the fans."
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin; Editing by Ken Ferris)
