Just over twelve months previously at the Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were finally awarded the green light as F1's most recent participant for the 2026 season. Constructing the team from nothing has involved a hectic work rate that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo program. As Formula One descends on Las Vegas this weekend, Cadillac know time is getting tight.
The Countdown to Australia
At the season finale of the campaign to be held in the America, with approximately three months to go before they hit the circuit for the maiden outing in Melbourne at the 2026 season opener, the Cadillac F1 project have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a never-ending challenge, they are conscious there will not be enough hours in the day.
The technical director, Nick Chester, joined the nascent project in the spring of 2023 not long after it was formed, when the organization were without even an approved entry. He has been at its heart since then and enjoys a wry smile when considering the journey.
“You might get a short period looking back at what you have accomplished and say: ‘Amazing, isn’t this fantastic what we’ve done in less than three years,’” he notes. “Then the very next instant you think: ‘Well, there is still a significant amount to do.’”
A One-of-a-Kind Task
Nick Chester enjoyed success at Renault in the driver Fernando Alonso's victorious years of the mid-2000s and was in charge of technical development at the recently formed Mercedes Formula E team, but no previous experience has truly matched the task of introducing the iconic American Cadillac brand, a manufacturer-backed entry supported by the owner, GM, into F1.
“Creating an grand prix team from nothing, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” he observes. “It's unparalleled. In an existing team you won't have the chance to alter cultural approach.”
With each day that passes thoughts are sharper on the approaching critical moment in Australia and goals are being managed.
“It's reasonable to expect that any new team coming in is going to be last but merely participating will be an feat in itself,” Graeme Lowdon commented this year and while the CTO agreed with this sentiment he thought the organization had a point to prove as well.
“Our primary goal we want to show is that we deserve to be there,” he emphasizes. “So that we arrive and we perform competently. We want to show that we’re a proper team performing the proper actions on the race track. After we have demonstrated that our credentials are solid, then we want to show improvement subsequently.”
Racing Talent and Team Building Effort
In the summer they contracted Sergio Pérez and Bottas as their drivers for 2026, a duo notable for their priceless expertise in operating at the front in two top-tier teams, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes-AMG, and Bottas reflected the sentiment of combative optimism.
“Certainly, we are pragmatic,” he commented. “There’s going to be a massive task to do, and it’s going to be probably a challenging beginning, because it's the top level of motorsport. But our goal isn't to remain at the rear. In my view with this structure, with this group, these personnel, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to progress rapidly to the front and enjoy some success.”
To that end hiring has been in overdrive, with staff now up to in excess of 400 and planned to attain the target of 600 swiftly. In addition to their current base at the UK base, the organization are in the process of building an headquarters at the Fishers location in Indy and there is the General Motors facility in Charlotte, where they are constructing the plant to manufacture the power unit, planned for 2029 – until then they will operate with Ferrari engines – and the aerodynamic facility in Germany. It is a intricate organization, contrary to the direction in Formula One for increased consolidation, and has inspired the fresh organizational mindset to which the CTO referred.
NASA Model
“We've drawn heavily from the NASA moon mission,” remarked the team principal ahead of the Silverstone race in the summer. “We are pragmatic, we know how difficult it is. The deadlines, are incredibly tight. Well, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have implemented, instead of the conventional chain of command, a non-hierarchical approach comparable to that of the space agency's, where there were a variety of specialist groups all working on various components of the project across a different facilities.
“In a system where you follow a procedure where an issue arises and they report it to their team leader, that supervisor communicates with a manager in another department, it travels back down, it becomes inefficient,” explains the CTO. “Therefore we enable people to handle things directly. Avoiding managerial sign-off for all decisions is much smoother and more rapid.”
Upcoming Challenges
The effectiveness of this flexible approach will be tested in the pressure of racing in 2026 and there is a significant degree at stake for F1, too. The Cadillac team have recruited as their test driver the young Californian Colton Herta
