Just over a full year ago at the Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately given the go-ahead as Formula One’s newest entry for the 2026 season. Building the squad from nothing has entailed a frenetic work rate that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo program. As F1 descends on Las Vegas this weekend, Cadillac understand the clock is ticking.
The Tight Timeline to Australia
At the final race of the season to be held in the America, with just over a hundred days to go before they make their debut for the maiden outing in Australia at the 2026 opener, Cadillac have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a monumental task, they are cognizant there will not be adequate time.
The CTO, Nick Chester, became part of the embryonic project in the spring of 2023 shortly after it was established, when the organization were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its core since then and has a amused expression when thinking about the ride.
“You might get a short period thinking back at what you’ve done and go: ‘Wow, how impressive what we’ve done in a short three-year period,’” he notes. “And then the following moment you realize: ‘Well, there is still a significant amount to do.’”
A Unique Task
Nick Chester achieved victories at Renault in Alonso's championship-winning years of 2005/2006 and was in control of engineering strategy at the recently formed Mercedes Formula E team, but no previous experience has been quite like the challenge of introducing the quintessentially American Cadillac name, a works entry backed by the owner, GM, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Creating an Formula One team from scratch, when will you ever have the possibility to do that?” he observes. “It is like nothing else. In an existing team you rarely get the opportunity to change cultural approach.”
With each day that passes thoughts are sharper on the looming decisive point in Melbourne and goals are being managed.
“You have to assume that any incoming team entering the sport is probably going to finish last but just making it to the starting line will be an feat in itself,” Graeme Lowdon commented this year and while the CTO echoed this he thought the squad had a reputation to build as well.
“The initial objective we aim to demonstrate is that we deserve to be there,” he emphasizes. “So that we show up and we function efficiently. We seek to prove that this is a professional operation performing the right things on the race track. Once we prove that our credentials are solid, then we aim to demonstrate progression from there on.”
Driver Lineup and Team Building Drive
In the summer they contracted Sergio Perez and Valtteri as their racers for 2026, a pair distinguished for their priceless expertise in operating at the sharp end in two championship-winning squads, Red Bull and Mercedes-AMG, and Bottas reflected the sentiment of determined optimism.
“Naturally, we are pragmatic,” Bottas stated. “There’s going to be a mountain of work to do, and we expect almost certainly a tough opening, because this is Formula One. But our goal isn't to finish last. In my view given this organization, 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 recruitment has been in top gear, with employees now at more than 400 and planned to reach the goal of six hundred quickly. Alongside their present headquarters at the Silverstone circuit, the organization are in the phase of completing an HQ at Fishers, Indiana in Indy and there is the GM plant in Charlotte, where they are building the center to build the new engine, set for 2029 – in the meantime they will use Ferrari engines – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany. It is a sophisticated organisation, at odds with the direction in Formula One for more centralization, and has prompted the fresh organizational mindset to which Chester alluded.
Space Mission Blueprint
“It’s highly modelled on the Apollo program,” said Graeme Lowdon just before the Silverstone race in mid-season. “We are pragmatic, we recognize how challenging it is. The deadlines, they’re super, super, super short. Alright, it's not a space expedition, but it can seem that way.”
So they have embraced, instead of the traditional management structure, a non-hierarchical approach comparable to that of Nasa’s, where there were a range of Apollo teams all working on various components of the program at a different facilities.
“When you must follow a process where a challenge emerges and they escalate it to their supervisor, that supervisor consults a manager in another department, it is relayed back, it’s super slow,” says Chester. “So we empower people to handle things directly. Avoiding hierarchical consent for everything is much smoother and faster.”
What Lies Ahead
The efficacy of this agile strategy will be tested in the pressure of racing in 2026 and there is no little amount at stake for F1, too. Cadillac have signed as their reserve driver the emerging Californian Colton Herta
