Just over one year ago at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were ultimately awarded the green light as F1's latest entry for 2026. Constructing the squad from nothing has involved a frenetic operating tempo that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo moon landing. As the sport converges on Vegas this weekend, Cadillac understand the clock is ticking.
The Countdown to Australia
At the final race of the campaign to be hosted in the United States, with approximately a hundred days to go before they take to the track for the maiden outing in Melbourne at the 2026 season opener, the Cadillac F1 project have made significant progress but, in what must seem like a never-ending endeavor, they are conscious there will not be adequate time.
The CTO, Nick Chester, came aboard the newly formed project in the spring of 2023 shortly after it was formed, when the organization were without even an official entry. He has been at its center since then and has a wry smile when considering the journey.
“There might be a short period thinking back at what the team has achieved and think: ‘Incredible, how impressive what we’ve done in less than three years,’” Chester states. “But then the next minute you consider: ‘Yeah, we still have a significant amount to do.’”
An Unprecedented Challenge
The CTO had success at the Renault team in Alonso's title-winning seasons of the mid-2000s and was in command of technical direction at the new Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but no previous experience has been quite like the task of introducing the quintessentially American Cadillac name, a manufacturer-backed entry supported by the parent company, General Motors, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Creating an F1 team from nothing, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” Chester remarks. “It is like nothing else. In an established team you won't have the chance to change team culture.”
With each passing day that passes thoughts are sharper on the approaching critical moment in Melbourne and targets are being managed.
“One must presume that a brand-new squad coming in is probably going to finish last but just making it to the starting line will be an achievement in itself,” Lowdon stated recently and while Nick Chester echoed this he thought the team had a statement to make as well.
“Our primary goal we want to show is that we should be there,” Chester explains. “So we show up and we perform competently. We aim to demonstrate that we are a serious contender performing the right things on the track. When we prove that our credentials are solid, then we will focus on forward movement after that.”
Racing Talent and Hiring Push
In August they signed Sergio Pérez and Valtteri as their drivers for 2026, a pair distinguished for their priceless expertise in operating at the sharp end in two of the sport’s biggest teams, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes-AMG, and Bottas reflected the sentiment of fighting spirit.
“Of course, we’re realistic,” Bottas stated. “There’s going to be a mountain of work to do, and it will likely be most likely a challenging beginning, because it is F1. But we aren't joining to stay at the back. In my view with this structure, with this group, this staff, there’s no reason why we won't be able to get relatively quickly up to the pace and enjoy some success.”
To realize that ambition staff acquisition has been in full swing, with personnel now at over 400 and scheduled to hit the objective of six hundred quickly. Alongside their existing facility at Silverstone, the team are in the midst of finishing an headquarters at Fishers in Indianapolis and there is the GM works in Charlotte, where they are building the facility to build the new engine, set for 2029 – until then they will run power from Ferrari – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany. It is a intricate organization, different from the movement in Formula One for more centralization, and has led to the innovative team culture to which Chester referred.
NASA Model
“It's closely based on the Apollo program,” remarked Graeme Lowdon shortly before the Silverstone race in mid-season. “We’re realistic, we recognize how difficult it is. The timelines, are extremely compressed. Well, we aren't launching a lunar mission, but it can seem that way.”
So they have implemented, rather than the usual hierarchical system, a flat management structure akin to that of NASA's, where there were a range of Apollo teams all focusing on different aspects of the program in a variety of locations.
“If you have to go through a procedure where someone has a problem and they raise it up to their team leader, that supervisor talks to a supervisor at a different location, it is relayed back, the process is very slow,” notes the CTO. “Therefore we enable team members to handle things directly. Eliminating managerial sign-off for everything is far more efficient and quicker.”
What Lies Ahead
The success of this agile approach will be evaluated in the pressure of racing next season and there is a significant degree riding on this for Formula One, too. The Cadillac team have recruited as their reserve driver the 25-year-old American Colton Herta
