Just over one year ago at the Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were at last granted the go-ahead as Formula One’s latest entry for 2026. Building the squad from nothing has required a hectic operating tempo that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo program. As the sport descends on Las Vegas this race weekend, Cadillac are aware the deadline is approaching.
The Race Against Time to Australia
At the last event of the championship to be held in the America, with around a hundred days to go before they take to the track for the inaugural time in Melbourne at the 2026 season opener, the Cadillac F1 project have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a monumental endeavor, they are aware there will not be enough hours in the day.
The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, came aboard the newly formed project in early 2023 not long after it was established, when the organization were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its heart ever since and has a amused expression when considering the ride.
“There might be a brief moment thinking back at what you have accomplished and say: ‘Wow, what an achievement what the team has created in less than three years,’” he says. “And then the following moment you consider: ‘Well, we’ve still got a great deal to do.’”
A Unique Challenge
Nick Chester had success at the Renault team in Alonso's title-winning years of 2005 and 2006 and was in control of engineering strategy at the new Mercedes Formula E team, but no previous experience has been quite like the challenge of bringing the iconic American Cadillac name, a manufacturer-backed entry supported by the parent company, General Motors, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Establishing an grand prix team from the ground up, when will you ever have the possibility to do that?” he observes. “It is like nothing else. In an established team you don’t get the chance to alter cultural approach.”
With each passing day that elapses minds are increasingly concentrated on the approaching moment of truth in the Australian GP and goals are being handled.
“You have to assume 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,” Graeme Lowdon stated earlier this year and while Nick Chester echoed this he felt the team had a statement to make as well.
“The initial objective we aim to demonstrate is that we belong on the grid,” he emphasizes. “In order that we arrive and we operate well. We seek to prove that we’re a proper team doing the right things on the circuit. Once we’ve shown that our credentials are solid, then we aim to demonstrate forward movement subsequently.”
Pilot Selection and Hiring Push
In August they contracted Checo Pérez and Bottas as their drivers for 2026, a pair notable for their invaluable experience in performing at the sharp end in two of the sport’s biggest teams, Red Bull and Mercedes-AMG, and Bottas expressed the attitude of combative optimism.
“Of course, we’re realistic,” he commented. “There’s going to be 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 stay at the back. I believe given this organization, with this team, this staff, there’s no reason why we won't be able to progress rapidly up to the pace and achieve good results.”
To realize that ambition recruitment has been in full swing, with personnel now at more than 400 and intended to attain the objective of 600 members swiftly. Complementing their present headquarters at Silverstone, the squad are in the phase of completing an HQ at Fishers, Indiana in Indianapolis and there is the GM plant in Charlotte, where they are constructing the plant to produce the new engine, planned for 2029 – for now they will use Ferrari power units – and the aerodynamic facility in Cologne, Germany. It is a sophisticated organization, contrary to the movement in the sport for more centralization, and has prompted the innovative team culture to which the CTO referred to.
NASA Model
“It’s highly modelled on the NASA moon mission,” said Graeme Lowdon shortly before the British GP in July. “We’re realistic, we recognize how difficult it is. The timelines, are incredibly tight. Well, we aren't launching a lunar mission, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have embraced, rather than the conventional chain of command, a non-hierarchical approach similar to that of Nasa’s, where there were a assortment of Apollo teams all tackling distinct elements of the mission at a variety of locations.
“When you must follow a procedure where a challenge emerges and they report it to their supervisor, that leader talks to a manager in another department, it is relayed back, the process is very slow,” explains the CTO. “So we empower people to take charge. Moving away from management approval for each action is far more efficient and more rapid.”
Upcoming Challenges
The efficacy of this agile methodology will be evaluated in the heat of competition next season and there is a considerable amount riding on this for the sport, too. Cadillac have recruited as their development driver the emerging Californian Colton Herta
