Approximately one year in the past at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately granted the go-ahead as F1's most recent entry for the 2026 season. Constructing the squad from nothing has involved a hectic pace of work that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo moon landing. As Formula One converges on Las Vegas this weekend, Cadillac understand the clock is ticking.
The Race Against Time to Australia
At the final race of the season to be hosted in the United States, with approximately a hundred days to go before they make their debut for the maiden outing in Australia at the 2026 opener, Cadillac have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a monumental task, they are cognizant there will not be sufficient time.
The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, became part of the nascent team in March 2023 not long after it was formed, when the team were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its center since then and gets a knowing grin when considering the journey.
“You might get five minutes reflecting at what the team has achieved and go: ‘Wow, isn’t this fantastic what we have built in a short three-year period,’” he says. “But then the following moment you realize: ‘Yes, we still have a significant amount to do.’”
A Unique Opportunity
Nick Chester enjoyed success at the Renault team in the driver Fernando Alonso's championship-winning campaigns of 2005/2006 and was in charge of technical development at the new Mercedes Formula E team, but no previous experience has been quite like the task of launching the quintessentially American Cadillac name, a manufacturer-backed entry sponsored by the parent company, General Motors, into F1.
“Establishing an F1 team from nothing, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” he says. “It's unparalleled. In an well-set team you won't have the opportunity to alter organizational mindset.”
With each day that passes minds are more focused on the looming moment of truth in Melbourne and goals are being set realistically.
“You have to assume that a brand-new squad joining the grid is probably going to finish last but simply getting on to the grid will be an feat in itself,” Graeme Lowdon commented this year and while the CTO agreed with this sentiment he believed the squad had a statement to make as well.
“Our primary goal we intend to prove is that we should be there,” he emphasizes. “In order that we show up and we operate well. We want to show that we’re a proper team executing the proper actions on the track. After we prove that we are a legitimate team, then we will focus on improvement subsequently.”
Pilot Selection and Recruitment Drive
In the summer they contracted Sergio Perez and Bottas as their pilots for 2026, a duo notable for their invaluable experience in performing at the sharp end in two top-tier teams, the Red Bull team and Mercedes, and Valtteri Bottas reflected the attitude of combative optimism.
“Naturally, we’re realistic,” he commented. “We have a mountain of work to do, and it will likely be most likely a challenging beginning, because it's the top level of motorsport. But we aren't joining to remain at the rear. In my view with this structure, with this group, this staff, it's entirely possible we shouldn’t be able to progress rapidly to the front and achieve good results.”
To that end hiring has been in overdrive, with staff now reaching more than 400 and intended to attain the target of 600 swiftly. Complementing their existing facility at the UK base, the organization are in the phase of building an HQ at Fishers in Indianapolis and there is the GM works in North Carolina, where they are building the center to manufacture the new engine, scheduled for 2029 – for now they will operate with power from Ferrari – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Germany. It is a sophisticated structure, at odds with the trend in Formula One for increased consolidation, and has inspired the fresh organizational mindset to which Chester referred to.
NASA Blueprint
“It’s highly modelled on the Apollo program,” said Lowdon just before the British Grand Prix in the summer. “We’re realistic, we recognize how difficult it is. The timelines, are extremely compressed. OK, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but it feels like it sometimes.”
So they have embraced, instead of the traditional management structure, a non-hierarchical approach similar to that of the space agency's, where there were a variety of specialist groups all focusing on various components of the mission across a different facilities.
“When you must follow a procedure where an issue arises and they raise it up to their manager, that supervisor communicates with a supervisor somewhere else, it is relayed back, it becomes inefficient,” notes Chester. “We give authority to team members to handle things directly. Eliminating hierarchical consent for each action is much smoother and faster.”
What Lies Ahead
The efficacy of this nimble approach will be evaluated in the pressure of racing when the season begins and there is a significant degree at stake for the sport, too. Cadillac have taken on as their reserve driver the emerging Californian Colton Herta
