A little more than twelve months in the past at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were ultimately granted the green light as F1's newest entrant for 2026. Constructing the team from the ground up has involved a intense pace of work that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the Apollo program. As F1 arrives on Las Vegas this weekend, Cadillac understand the deadline is approaching.
The Tight Timeline to Australia
At the last event of the championship to be staged in the United States, with approximately three months to go before they make their debut for the first time in Melbourne at the 2026 season opener, Cadillac have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a never-ending challenge, they are conscious there will never be sufficient time.
The CTO, Nick Chester, came aboard the nascent project in the spring of 2023 soon after it was established, when the squad were without even an approved entry. He has been at its heart ever since and has a knowing grin when thinking about the experience.
“There might be a short period reflecting at what you’ve done and go: ‘Amazing, isn’t this fantastic what we’ve done in a short three-year period,’” he says. “But then the following moment you think: ‘Yeah, we’ve still got a significant amount to do.’”
A One-of-a-Kind Opportunity
Nick Chester achieved victories at Renault in Alonso's victorious campaigns of 2005/2006 and was in control of technical development at the new Mercedes Formula E team, but nothing has truly matched the challenge of launching the all-American Cadillac brand, a factory team supported by the corporate entity, General Motors Corporation, into F1.
“Creating an Formula One team from nothing, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” Chester remarks. “It's unparalleled. In an established team you don’t get the opportunity to change team culture.”
With each day that elapses minds are sharper on the approaching critical moment in Melbourne and targets are being set realistically.
“One must presume that any new team joining the grid is likely to start at the back but simply getting on to the grid will be an accomplishment in itself,” Graeme Lowdon commented earlier this year and while Chester echoed this he believed the team had a reputation to build as well.
“The first thing we aim to demonstrate is that we deserve to be there,” he emphasizes. “So that we turn up and we function efficiently. We aim to demonstrate that we’re a proper team doing the right things on the circuit. After we’ve shown that we’re really credible, then we want to show improvement subsequently.”
Driver Lineup and Team Building Drive
In late summer they contracted Sergio Pérez and Valtteri as their racers for 2026, a duo distinguished for their invaluable experience in operating at the sharp end in two top-tier teams, the Red Bull team and Mercedes-AMG, and Valtteri Bottas echoed the sentiment of determined optimism.
“Of course, we are pragmatic,” he said. “We face 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. I am confident with this structure, with these individuals, this staff, there is every reason that we shouldn’t be able to advance swiftly to a competitive level and enjoy some success.”
To achieve that goal staff acquisition has been in full swing, with staff now up to more than 400 and intended to reach the goal of six hundred quickly. In addition to their current base at the UK base, the team are in the process of building an HQ at Fishers in Indianapolis and there is the General Motors facility in Charlotte, where they are constructing the plant to produce the new engine, scheduled for 2029 – in the meantime they will use Ferrari power units – and the aerodynamic facility in Cologne. It is a sophisticated structure, contrary to the direction in the sport for more centralization, and has prompted the new cultural approach to which the CTO referred.
Space Mission Model
“It's closely based on the Apollo program,” said Graeme Lowdon ahead of the British GP in the summer. “We’re realistic, we recognize how difficult it is. The schedules, they’re super, super, super short. OK, it's not a space expedition, but it can seem that way.”
So they have embraced, instead of the usual hierarchical system, a flat management structure similar to that of the space agency's, where there were a variety of specialist groups all focusing on different aspects of the program across a variety of locations.
“In a system where you follow a process where someone has a problem and they escalate it to their supervisor, that manager communicates with a manager somewhere else, it travels back down, it becomes inefficient,” explains Chester. “Therefore we enable staff to take charge. Eliminating hierarchical consent for all decisions is far more efficient and more rapid.”
What Lies Ahead
The success of this nimble methodology will be proven in the heat of competition when the season begins and there is a significant degree on the line for F1, too. Cadillac have signed as their reserve driver the young American Colton Herta
