Approximately twelve months ago at the Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately awarded the green light as Formula One’s most recent entrant for the 2026 season. Establishing the organization from the ground up has required a intense work rate that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo program. As Formula One descends on Vegas this race weekend, Cadillac know the deadline is approaching.
The Race Against Time to Melbourne
At the last event of the campaign to be held in the America, with approximately 100 days to go before they take to the track for the first time in Melbourne at the 2026 season opener, the Cadillac F1 project have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a monumental challenge, they are aware there will never be enough hours in the day.
The technical director, Nick Chester, joined the nascent operation in the spring of 2023 shortly after it was created, when the organization were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its heart since then and gets a amused expression when reflecting on the ride.
“There might be a brief moment reflecting at what the team has achieved and say: ‘Amazing, what an achievement what the team has created in less than three years,’” Chester states. “And then the next minute you think: ‘Yes, there is still a significant amount to do.’”
An Unprecedented Task
Nick Chester had success at the Renault team in the driver Fernando Alonso's championship-winning seasons of 2005/2006 and was in charge of technical direction at the then-new Mercedes electric racing team, but nothing has been quite like the challenge of launching the quintessentially American Cadillac brand, a works entry sponsored by the corporate entity, GM, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Establishing an Formula One team from nothing, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” he says. “It is like nothing else. In an well-set team you won't have the opportunity to change organizational mindset.”
With each passing day that passes minds are sharper on the approaching decisive point in Australia and goals are being set realistically.
“It's reasonable to expect that any incoming team entering the sport is going to be last but simply getting on to the grid will be an feat in itself,” the team principal stated earlier this year and while Chester agreed with this sentiment he thought the squad had a reputation to build as well.
“The initial objective we aim to demonstrate is that we should be there,” Chester explains. “So that we show up and we function efficiently. We aim to demonstrate that this is a professional operation doing the proper actions on the circuit. When we have demonstrated that our credentials are solid, then we will focus on forward movement after that.”
Driver Lineup and Hiring Effort
In August they signed Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas as their pilots for 2026, a duo notable for their vast knowledge in competing at the sharp end in two of the sport’s biggest teams, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes, and Bottas expressed the attitude of fighting spirit.
“Of course, we have a realistic outlook,” Bottas stated. “There’s going to be a massive task to do, and it’s going to be most likely a tough opening, because this is Formula One. But our goal isn't to remain at the rear. In my view with this structure, with this team, this staff, it's entirely possible we won't be able to get relatively quickly to the front and achieve good results.”
To that end staff acquisition has been in full swing, with personnel now at over 400 and intended to reach the target of 600 members swiftly. In addition to their existing facility at the Silverstone circuit, the team are in the phase of building an headquarters at the Fishers location in Indy and there is the General Motors facility in North Carolina, where they are building the center to manufacture the new engine, scheduled for 2029 – until then they will run Ferrari power units – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Germany. It is a sophisticated organisation, at odds with the direction in Formula One for more centralization, and has led to the fresh organizational mindset to which the CTO alluded.
Space Mission Model
“It's closely based on the Apollo program,” said Graeme Lowdon just before the British GP in July. “We’re realistic, we know how challenging it is. The deadlines, are incredibly tight. Alright, it's not a space expedition, but it feels like it sometimes.”
So they have implemented, instead of the traditional management structure, a flat management structure akin to that of Nasa’s, where there were a variety of project teams all focusing on various components of the mission at a different facilities.
“If you have to go through a procedure where someone has a problem and they escalate it to their team leader, that manager consults a supervisor somewhere else, it is relayed back, it becomes inefficient,” explains the CTO. “Therefore we enable staff to take charge. Moving away from managerial sign-off for each action is far more efficient and faster.”
What Lies Ahead
The success of this agile methodology will be proven in the intensity of Grand Prix next season and there is a considerable amount at stake for F1, too. Cadillac have recruited as their reserve driver the young Californian Colton Herta
