Just over twelve months ago at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately awarded the go-ahead as F1's most recent entry for 2026. Establishing the squad from the ground up has entailed a hectic operating tempo that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo program. As the sport descends on the Vegas strip this weekend, Cadillac are aware the clock is ticking.
The Tight Timeline to Melbourne
At the season finale of the season to be hosted in the America, with just over 100 days to go before they take to the track for the inaugural time in Australia at the first race of 2026, the Cadillac F1 project have made significant progress 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, joined the nascent team in March 2023 not long after it was established, when the team were without even an official entry. He has been at its center ever since and has a knowing grin when thinking about the experience.
“There might be a brief moment looking back at what you’ve done and think: ‘Amazing, how impressive what we have built in under three years,’” he says. “And then the following moment you think: ‘Well, there is still a significant amount to do.’”
An Unprecedented Task
Nick Chester achieved victories at the Renault team in Fernando Alonso’s championship-winning seasons of the mid-2000s and was in charge of technical direction at the then-new Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but nothing has truly matched the mission of introducing the quintessentially American Cadillac name, a manufacturer-backed entry supported by the owner, General Motors, into Formula One.
“Creating an grand prix team from scratch, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he says. “It is like nothing else. In an well-set team you don’t get the possibility to alter organizational mindset.”
With each passing day that elapses minds are more focused on the approaching critical moment in Melbourne and targets are being set realistically.
“You have to assume that any new team entering the sport is going to be last but just making it to the starting line will be an accomplishment in itself,” the team principal stated earlier this year and while the CTO agreed with this sentiment he believed the squad had a point to prove as well.
“The initial objective we intend to prove is that we belong on the grid,” Chester explains. “So that we turn up and we perform competently. We seek to prove that we are a serious contender executing the right things on the race track. After we’ve shown that we are a legitimate team, then we will focus on forward movement after that.”
Pilot Selection and Hiring Drive
In August they recruited Sergio Pérez and Bottas as their racers for 2026, a duo remarkable for their invaluable experience in performing at the front in two of the sport’s biggest teams, the Red Bull team and Mercedes, and Bottas expressed the sentiment of fighting spirit.
“Certainly, we are pragmatic,” he commented. “There’s going to be a mountain of work to do, and it’s going to be probably a tough opening, because this is Formula One. But we’re not there to finish last. I believe with this structure, with these individuals, this staff, there’s no reason why we won't be able to advance swiftly to the front and enjoy some success.”
To realize that ambition recruitment has been in full swing, with employees now reaching over 400 and intended to reach the goal of 600 members quickly. Complementing their existing facility at Silverstone, the team are in the midst of completing an main base at the Fishers location in the Indianapolis area and there is the GM works in North Carolina, where they are developing the facility to build the 2029 engine, scheduled for 2029 – for now they will run Ferrari power units – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany. It is a intricate organization, contrary to the movement in Formula One for increased consolidation, and has led to the innovative team culture to which the CTO referred.
Space Mission Model
“It's closely based on the Apollo project,” said Graeme Lowdon ahead of the British GP in July. “We’re realistic, we understand how challenging it is. The schedules, are extremely compressed. Well, we aren't launching a lunar mission, but it feels like it sometimes.”
So they have adopted, instead of the usual hierarchical system, a flat management structure comparable to that of Nasa’s, where there were a assortment of Apollo teams all working on various components of the mission in a multiple sites.
“When you must follow a procedure where an issue arises and they escalate it to their team leader, that leader consults a supervisor somewhere else, it is relayed back, it becomes inefficient,” notes Chester. “Therefore we enable team members to take charge. Avoiding managerial sign-off for everything is far more efficient and quicker.”
What Lies Ahead
The efficacy of this flexible approach will be proven in the pressure of racing when the season begins and there is no little amount on the line for Formula One, too. The Cadillac team have signed as their reserve driver the young Californian Colton Herta
