Just over one year previously at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately awarded the green light as the world of Formula One's latest entrant for 2026. Constructing the squad from nothing has entailed a hectic work rate that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the Apollo program. As Formula One arrives on the Vegas strip this race weekend, the team know time is getting tight.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the last event of the season to be hosted in the United States, with around three months to go before they hit the circuit for the first time in Australia at the first race of 2026, the Cadillac F1 project have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a never-ending challenge, they are aware there will never be enough hours in the day.
The CTO, Nick Chester, joined the embryonic team in March 2023 shortly after it was formed, when the team were without even an official entry. He has been at its heart ever since and has a knowing grin when considering the journey.
“You might get a brief moment looking back at what you have accomplished and say: ‘Incredible, how impressive what we’ve done in under three years,’” Chester states. “But then the following moment you consider: ‘Well, we still have a great deal to do.’”
A One-of-a-Kind Task
Chester had success at the Renault team in the driver Fernando Alonso's title-winning years of the mid-2000s and was in charge of technical direction at the new Mercedes Formula E team, but no previous experience has been quite like the challenge of launching the iconic American Cadillac name, a factory team backed by the owner, GM, into Formula One.
“Building an Formula One team from nothing, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” Chester remarks. “It is like nothing else. In an existing team you won't have the possibility to change organizational mindset.”
With every day that passes focus are more focused on the approaching critical moment in the Australian GP and expectations are being set realistically.
“It's reasonable to expect that any new team joining the grid is probably going to finish last but just making it to the starting line will be an achievement in itself,” Graeme Lowdon commented this year and while Chester echoed this he felt the team had a point to prove as well.
“Our primary goal we intend to prove is that we belong on the grid,” he emphasizes. “So we show up and we function efficiently. We aim to demonstrate that we’re a proper team doing the right things on the track. After we’ve shown that we’re really credible, then we aim to demonstrate improvement subsequently.”
Racing Talent and Recruitment Effort
In the summer they signed Checo Pérez and Bottas as their drivers for the 2026 season, a pair remarkable for their invaluable experience in operating at the sharp end in two top-tier teams, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes, and the Finnish driver echoed the sentiment of determined optimism.
“Certainly, we are pragmatic,” he said. “We have a massive task to do, and we expect almost certainly a tough opening, because this is Formula One. But our goal isn't to remain at the rear. I am confident given this organization, with this group, this staff, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to advance swiftly to a competitive level and enjoy some success.”
To realize that ambition staff acquisition has been in full swing, with personnel now at in excess of 400 and intended to hit the objective of 600 quickly. Alongside their existing facility at the Silverstone circuit, the organization are in the midst of finishing an HQ at the Fishers location in Indianapolis and there is the GM works in North Carolina, where they are building the plant to build the power unit, set for the 2029 season – in the meantime they will operate with power from Ferrari – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany. It is a intricate structure, at odds with the direction in the sport for more centralization, and has inspired the fresh organizational mindset to which Chester referred to.
Apollo Blueprint
“It's closely based on the Apollo project,” remarked Lowdon shortly before the British GP in mid-season. “We are pragmatic, we understand how tough it is. The timelines, are incredibly tight. Alright, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but it can seem that way.”
So they have adopted, rather than the traditional management structure, a non-hierarchical approach similar to that of Nasa’s, where there were a assortment of project teams all working on various components of the mission in a different facilities.
“In a system where you follow a process where an issue arises and they raise it up to their manager, that leader communicates with a supervisor at a different location, it goes back down the chain, the process is very slow,” explains Chester. “Therefore we enable people to take charge. Eliminating management approval for each action is far more efficient and faster.”
What Lies Ahead
The effectiveness of this flexible strategy will be tested in the heat of competition when the season begins and there is a significant degree on the line for Formula One, too. Cadillac have recruited as their reserve driver the young American Colton Herta
