Approximately a full year ago at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were at last given the go-ahead as the world of Formula One's newest entry for 2026. Building the team from the ground up has required a frenetic pace of work that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo program. As Formula One descends on Vegas this race weekend, the team understand the deadline is approaching.
The Countdown to Australia
At the last event of the campaign to be hosted in the America, with around 100 days to go before they hit the circuit for the maiden outing in Australia at the 2026 opener, the Cadillac F1 project have made significant progress but, in what must seem like a never-ending challenge, they are conscious there will not be sufficient time.
The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, came aboard the newly formed project in early 2023 not long after it was formed, when the squad were without even an official entry. He has been at its center ever since and gets a wry smile when reflecting on the ride.
“There might be a brief moment thinking back at what you’ve done and think: ‘Amazing, how impressive what the team has created in less than three years,’” Chester states. “But then the very next instant you realize: ‘Well, we still have quite a lot to do.’”
An Unprecedented Opportunity
Nick Chester achieved victories at Renault in the driver Fernando Alonso's title-winning seasons of 2005/2006 and was in command of technical development at the recently formed Mercedes electric racing team, but no other project has been quite like the mission of launching the quintessentially American Cadillac name, a manufacturer-backed entry backed by the parent company, GM, into F1.
“Building an Formula One team from nothing, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” Chester remarks. “It's unparalleled. In an established team you won't have the possibility to change organizational mindset.”
With every day that elapses thoughts are sharper on the approaching critical moment in Australia and expectations are being handled.
“You have to assume that any incoming team entering the sport is going to be last but merely participating will be an feat in itself,” Lowdon commented earlier this year and while Chester echoed this he thought the team had a reputation to build as well.
“The initial objective we aim to demonstrate is that we belong on the grid,” he emphasizes. “In order that we turn up and we function efficiently. We aim to demonstrate that we’re a proper team performing the correct procedures on the circuit. When we prove that we are a legitimate team, then we aim to demonstrate progression subsequently.”
Driver Lineup and Team Building Drive
In the summer they contracted Sergio Pérez and Bottas as their pilots for the 2026 season, a pair distinguished for their invaluable experience in performing at the sharp end in two championship-winning squads, Red Bull and Mercedes-AMG, and the Finnish driver reflected the mood of combative optimism.
“Of course, we are pragmatic,” he commented. “We face a huge amount of work to do, and we expect almost certainly a difficult start, because it's the top level of motorsport. But our goal isn't to finish last. I believe given this organization, with these individuals, this staff, there’s no reason why we won't be able to progress rapidly to the front and achieve good results.”
To achieve that goal hiring has been in overdrive, with employees now reaching in excess of 400 and planned to hit the goal of 600 members quickly. In addition to their present headquarters at Silverstone, the team are in the phase of completing an headquarters at Fishers, Indiana in Indianapolis and there is the General Motors facility in Charlotte, where they are building the facility to build the 2029 engine, scheduled for 2029 – in the meantime they will operate with power from Ferrari – and the aerodynamic facility in Germany. It is a sophisticated structure, contrary to the movement in F1 for increased consolidation, and has led to the new cultural approach to which the CTO referred to.
NASA Blueprint
“It's closely based on the Apollo project,” said Lowdon just before the Silverstone race in the summer. “We’re realistic, we know how tough it is. The timelines, they’re super, super, super short. Well, it's not a space expedition, but it feels like it sometimes.”
So they have implemented, rather than the traditional management structure, a flat management structure similar to that of NASA's, where there were a assortment of specialist groups all working on distinct elements of the project in a different facilities.
“When you must follow a procedure where an issue arises and they report it to their manager, that manager consults a supervisor at a different location, it goes back down the chain, the process is very slow,” explains Nick Chester. “Therefore we enable people to take charge. Eliminating hierarchical consent for everything is much smoother and quicker.”
Upcoming Challenges
The success of this nimble strategy will be evaluated in the intensity of Grand Prix when the season begins and there is a considerable amount at stake for F1, too. Cadillac have signed as their reserve driver the young Californian Colton Herta
