Approximately twelve months in the past at the Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were finally awarded the go-ahead as F1's most recent participant for the 2026 season. Establishing the team from scratch has entailed a hectic work rate that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo moon landing. As F1 arrives on the Vegas strip this race weekend, Cadillac know the deadline is approaching.
The Countdown to Australia
At the last event of the season to be held in the America, with around 100 days to go before they take to the track for the maiden outing in Melbourne at the first race of 2026, Cadillac have made significant progress but, in what must seem like a sisyphean task, they are conscious there will not be enough hours in the day.
The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, joined the embryonic team in the spring of 2023 soon after it was created, when the team were without even an approved entry. He has been at its heart since then and enjoys a knowing grin when thinking about the journey.
“You might get a brief moment thinking back at what you have accomplished and go: ‘Wow, isn’t this fantastic what we’ve done in under three years,’” he says. “And then the next minute you realize: ‘Well, we’ve still got a great deal to do.’”
An Unprecedented Opportunity
Chester enjoyed success at the Renault team in the driver Fernando Alonso's title-winning years of 2005/2006 and was in command of technical development at the then-new Mercedes electric racing team, but no other project has been quite like the task of launching the all-American Cadillac marque, a manufacturer-backed entry backed by the parent company, General Motors Corporation, into Formula One.
“Establishing an Formula One team from scratch, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he observes. “It's unparalleled. In an established team you won't have the possibility to transform cultural approach.”
With each passing day that passes minds are more focused on the looming moment of truth in the Australian GP and targets are being set realistically.
“One must presume that a brand-new squad coming in is likely to start at the back but simply getting on to the grid will be an feat in itself,” Lowdon stated this year and while Nick Chester agreed with this sentiment he thought the squad had a statement to make as well.
“Our primary goal we aim to demonstrate is that we deserve to be there,” he says. “So we turn up and we operate well. We want to show that this is a professional operation doing the correct procedures on the track. Once we prove that our credentials are solid, then we want to show forward movement subsequently.”
Racing Talent and Recruitment Drive
In the summer they signed Sergio Perez and Bottas as their racers for 2026, a pair remarkable for their priceless expertise in competing at the leading positions in two top-tier teams, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes, and the Finnish driver echoed the attitude of fighting spirit.
“Naturally, we are pragmatic,” he commented. “We face a huge amount of work to do, and we expect probably a challenging beginning, because it's the top level of motorsport. But we aren't joining to remain at the rear. I am confident with this setup, with these individuals, these people, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to progress rapidly to a competitive level and taste victory.”
To realize that ambition recruitment has been in top gear, with staff now reaching more than 400 and planned to hit the goal of 600 swiftly. Alongside their present headquarters at the UK base, the team are in the process of completing an HQ at the Fishers location in Indianapolis and there is the General Motors facility in Charlotte, where they are constructing the center to build the new engine, set for 2029 – for now they will run power from Ferrari – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne. It is a complex organization, at odds with the direction in F1 for greater centralisation, and has inspired the innovative team culture to which the CTO alluded.
Apollo Blueprint
“It’s highly modelled on the NASA moon mission,” said Lowdon shortly before the British Grand Prix in the summer. “We have a clear-eyed view, we know how challenging it is. The deadlines, they’re super, super, super short. Alright, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have adopted, instead of the conventional chain of command, a non-hierarchical approach similar to that of the space agency's, where there were a range of project teams all working on various components of the program in a variety of locations.
“When you must follow a process where someone has a problem and they report it to their supervisor, that leader consults a leader somewhere else, it is relayed back, the process is very slow,” notes Chester. “We give authority to team members to handle things directly. Moving away from managerial sign-off for each action is far more efficient and quicker.”
The Future
The success of this nimble strategy will be proven in the heat of competition when the season begins and there is a significant degree at stake for the sport, too. Cadillac have recruited as their reserve driver the young American Colton Herta
