A little more than one year previously at the Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were finally given the green light as F1's newest entrant for 2026. Establishing the squad from nothing has entailed a frenetic pace of work that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo program. As Formula One descends on Las Vegas this race weekend, Cadillac are aware the clock is ticking.
The Tight Timeline to Melbourne
At the last event of the championship to be hosted in the US, with approximately three months to go before they make their debut 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 endeavor, they are aware there will never be enough hours in the day.
The technical director, Nick Chester, came aboard the embryonic project in March 2023 shortly after it was established, when the organization were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its heart since then and has a wry smile when reflecting on the journey.
“There might be a brief moment looking back at what you have accomplished and think: ‘Incredible, how impressive what we have built in a short three-year period,’” he says. “And then the very next instant you consider: ‘Well, we’ve still got quite a lot to do.’”
An Unprecedented Opportunity
Chester had success at the Renault team in the driver Fernando Alonso's victorious seasons of 2005/2006 and was in command of engineering strategy at the then-new Mercedes Formula E team, but nothing has truly matched the task of launching the all-American Cadillac marque, a manufacturer-backed entry sponsored by the parent company, General Motors Corporation, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Establishing 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 don’t get the opportunity to change organizational mindset.”
With each passing day that passes thoughts are increasingly concentrated on the approaching critical moment in Melbourne and targets are being managed.
“One must presume that any new team coming in is likely to start at the back but simply getting on to the grid will be an achievement in itself,” Graeme Lowdon noted recently and while Chester shared this view he felt the team had a reputation to build as well.
“Our primary goal we aim to demonstrate is that we belong on the grid,” Chester explains. “So we arrive and we operate well. We seek to prove that we’re a proper team doing the proper actions on the race track. After we’ve shown that we’re really credible, then we want to show progression from there on.”
Driver Lineup and Recruitment Push
In late summer they recruited Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas as their drivers for the 2026 season, a tandem distinguished for their priceless expertise in competing at the front in two of the sport’s biggest teams, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes-AMG, and Bottas echoed the attitude of determined optimism.
“Naturally, we have a realistic outlook,” he said. “We face a huge amount of work to do, and we expect almost certainly a tough opening, because it's the top level of motorsport. But we aren't joining to stay at the back. In my view with this setup, with this team, this staff, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to progress rapidly to the front and taste victory.”
To achieve that goal staff acquisition has been in full swing, with personnel now at in excess of 400 and intended to attain the goal of 600 members swiftly. In addition to their current base at Silverstone, the team are in the phase of completing an main base at Fishers in the Indianapolis area and there is the GM works in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are building the plant to produce the power unit, planned for the 2029 season – for now they will run power from Ferrari – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany. It is a sophisticated structure, different from the movement in Formula One for increased consolidation, and has prompted the innovative team culture to which Chester referred.
Space Mission Inspiration
“It's closely based on the Apollo project,” stated Lowdon ahead of the British GP in mid-season. “We have a clear-eyed view, we recognize how challenging it is. The timelines, they’re super, super, super short. OK, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but it feels like it sometimes.”
So they have embraced, instead of the conventional chain of command, a non-hierarchical approach similar to that of NASA's, where there were a variety of specialist groups all focusing on different aspects of the mission in a variety of locations.
“If you have to go through a process where a challenge emerges and they report it to their supervisor, that leader communicates with a supervisor in another department, it goes back down the chain, the process is very slow,” explains Nick Chester. “We give authority to staff to handle things directly. Moving away from managerial sign-off for all decisions is much smoother and quicker.”
What Lies Ahead
The effectiveness of this nimble methodology will be proven in the pressure of racing next season and there is a significant degree riding on this for Formula One, too. The Cadillac team have signed as their development driver the 25-year-old Californian Colton Herta
