A little more than a full year ago at the Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were finally awarded the green light as the world of Formula One's most recent entrant for 2026. Building the squad from scratch has entailed a hectic operating tempo that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo program. As F1 descends on the Vegas strip this weekend, Cadillac know the deadline is approaching.
The Race Against Time to Melbourne
At the final race of the campaign to be held in the US, with just over 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 come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a never-ending challenge, they are aware there will not be enough hours in the day.
The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, became part of the embryonic operation in March 2023 shortly after it was established, when the organization were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its core since then and enjoys a amused expression when thinking about the ride.
“You can have a brief moment reflecting at what you’ve done and say: ‘Incredible, what an achievement what we’ve done in under three years,’” he says. “But then the following moment you think: ‘Yes, we still have a great deal to do.’”
A One-of-a-Kind Challenge
Chester had success at Renault in the driver Fernando Alonso's victorious campaigns of 2005 and 2006 and was in control of engineering strategy at the new Mercedes Formula E team, but no other project has truly matched the task of introducing the quintessentially American Cadillac marque, a works entry sponsored by the corporate entity, GM, into F1.
“Building an grand prix team from nothing, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he observes. “There's nothing comparable. In an existing team you rarely get the possibility to change cultural approach.”
With each day that goes by focus are increasingly concentrated on the approaching moment of truth in the Australian GP and expectations are being managed.
“One must presume that any incoming team coming in is probably going to finish last but simply getting on to the grid will be an feat in itself,” Graeme Lowdon stated earlier this year and while the CTO shared this view he believed the squad had a statement to make as well.
“Our primary goal we want to show is that we belong on the grid,” he emphasizes. “In order that we show up and we operate well. We aim to demonstrate that we’re a proper team doing the right things on the track. Once we have demonstrated that our credentials are solid, then we will focus on forward movement subsequently.”
Racing Talent and Hiring Effort
In August they signed Checo Pérez and Valtteri Bottas as their drivers for the 2026 season, a duo remarkable for their invaluable experience in competing at the front in two championship-winning squads, Red Bull and Mercedes-AMG, and the Finnish driver echoed the sentiment of fighting spirit.
“Naturally, we’re realistic,” Bottas stated. “We have a mountain of work to do, and it’s going to be probably a challenging beginning, because it is F1. But we aren't joining to finish last. I am confident with this setup, with these individuals, these personnel, there’s no reason why we can't manage to advance swiftly up to the pace and achieve good results.”
To realize that ambition hiring has been in overdrive, with staff now reaching over 400 and intended to attain the target of 600 rapidly. In addition to their current base at the Silverstone circuit, the team are in the phase of finishing an main base at Fishers in Indy and there is the General Motors facility in North Carolina, where they are constructing the center to manufacture the new engine, planned for 2029 – in the meantime they will operate with Ferrari power units – and the aerodynamic facility in Cologne. It is a sophisticated structure, contrary to the movement in the sport for greater centralisation, and has inspired the new cultural approach to which the CTO alluded.
Space Mission Blueprint
“We've drawn heavily from the Apollo program,” said the team principal just before the British Grand Prix in mid-season. “We are pragmatic, we know how challenging it is. The deadlines, they’re super, super, super short. OK, it's not a space expedition, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have embraced, instead of the conventional chain of command, a non-hierarchical approach comparable to that of the space agency's, where there were a range of specialist groups all focusing on various components of the mission at a multiple sites.
“In a system where you follow a procedure where an issue arises and they report it to their supervisor, that manager consults a supervisor somewhere else, it travels back down, it becomes inefficient,” says the CTO. “We give authority to team members to really get on with it. Moving away from management approval for all decisions is much smoother and quicker.”
What Lies Ahead
The effectiveness of this flexible methodology will be tested in the heat of competition next season and there is a considerable amount at stake for the sport, too. The Cadillac team have signed as their development driver the 25-year-old American Colton Herta
