Just over one year previously at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately granted the go-ahead as the world of Formula One's most recent entrant for 2026. Establishing the squad from nothing has entailed a frenetic pace of work that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo moon landing. As F1 converges on Las Vegas this weekend, the team understand the deadline is approaching.
The Countdown to Australia
At the season finale of the championship to be hosted in the America, with around three months to go before they make their debut for the maiden outing in Australia at the 2026 season opener, Cadillac have made significant progress but, in what must seem like a sisyphean endeavor, they are aware there will not be adequate time.
The CTO, Nick Chester, became part of the nascent team in early 2023 soon after it was established, when the organization were without even an approved entry. He has been at its heart since then and gets a wry smile when considering the ride.
“There might be a short period thinking back at what you’ve done and think: ‘Incredible, how impressive what we’ve done in less than three years,’” he says. “Then the next minute you consider: ‘Yeah, we still have quite a lot to do.’”
An Unprecedented Opportunity
Chester enjoyed success at the Renault team in the driver Fernando Alonso's title-winning campaigns of 2005 and 2006 and was in control of engineering strategy at the then-new Mercedes Formula E team, but no previous experience has been quite like the task of launching the iconic American Cadillac brand, a works entry supported by the parent company, General Motors, into F1.
“Building an grand prix team from scratch, when will you ever have the possibility to do that?” he says. “There's nothing comparable. In an existing team you don’t get the chance to change team culture.”
With every day that passes thoughts are increasingly concentrated on the approaching decisive point in Australia and targets are being set realistically.
“You have to assume that a brand-new squad joining the grid is probably going to finish last but just making it to the starting line will be an feat in itself,” the team principal stated recently and while the CTO echoed this he thought the squad had a statement to make as well.
“The first thing we want to show is that we belong on the grid,” Chester explains. “So that we arrive and we operate well. We aim to demonstrate that we are a serious contender executing the correct procedures on the circuit. When we prove that we’re really credible, then we want to show forward movement subsequently.”
Racing Talent and Hiring Effort
In late summer they contracted Sergio Perez and Bottas as their racers for 2026, a duo distinguished for their vast knowledge in performing at the sharp end in two of the sport’s biggest teams, the Red Bull team and the Mercedes team, and the Finnish driver reflected the mood of fighting spirit.
“Certainly, we have a realistic outlook,” he commented. “We face a huge amount of work to do, and it will likely be most likely a difficult start, because it is F1. But our goal isn't to remain at the rear. In my view with this structure, with these individuals, these personnel, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to advance swiftly to the front and taste victory.”
To achieve that goal hiring has been in overdrive, with employees now reaching more than 400 and planned to hit the target of 600 members rapidly. Alongside their existing facility at Silverstone, the team are in the phase of completing an headquarters at Fishers, Indiana in Indy and there is the GM works in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are building the center to manufacture the power unit, planned for the 2029 season – in the meantime they will use Ferrari power units – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany. It is a intricate structure, different from the trend in the sport for increased consolidation, and has led to the fresh organizational mindset to which Nick Chester referred.
NASA Inspiration
“It's closely based on the Apollo project,” said Graeme Lowdon just before the British Grand Prix in mid-season. “We’re realistic, we recognize how challenging it is. The deadlines, are extremely compressed. Alright, we aren't launching a lunar mission, but it feels like it sometimes.”
So they have embraced, instead of the usual hierarchical system, a non-hierarchical approach similar to that of NASA's, where there were a variety of project teams all tackling different aspects of the mission at a variety of locations.
“If you have to go through a process where a challenge emerges and they report it to their supervisor, that manager communicates with a supervisor at a different location, it is relayed back, it’s super slow,” explains the CTO. “We give authority to people to handle things directly. Moving away from management approval for everything is much smoother and faster.”
Upcoming Challenges
The success of this nimble approach will be proven in the heat of competition next season and there is a considerable amount riding on this for F1, too. Cadillac have recruited as their test driver the emerging American Colton Herta
