Just over one year ago at the Nevada Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were ultimately awarded the go-ahead as Formula One’s newest participant for the 2026 season. Building the squad from the ground up has required a hectic pace of work that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the Apollo moon landing. As the sport descends on Vegas this weekend, Cadillac understand the deadline is approaching.
The Tight Timeline to Melbourne
At the last event of the season to be held in the America, with approximately a hundred days to go before they make their debut for the inaugural time in Melbourne at the first race of 2026, the Cadillac F1 project have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a monumental challenge, they are aware there will never be adequate time.
The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, came aboard the nascent project in March 2023 soon after it was created, when the team were without even an approved entry. He has been at its heart ever since and enjoys a knowing grin when reflecting on the ride.
“You might get a short period looking back at what you have accomplished and go: ‘Amazing, how impressive what we’ve done in less than three years,’” Chester states. “And then the very next instant you realize: ‘Well, there is still a significant amount to do.’”
A Unique Opportunity
Chester achieved victories at the Renault team in Alonso's title-winning years of 2005 and 2006 and was in charge of technical development at the then-new Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but no previous experience has been quite like the mission of launching the quintessentially American Cadillac brand, a works entry sponsored by the owner, General Motors Corporation, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Establishing an grand prix team from scratch, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” he says. “It's unparalleled. In an existing team you won't have the possibility to change organizational mindset.”
With each passing day that passes focus are more focused on the impending decisive point in Melbourne and goals are being managed.
“One must presume that a brand-new squad coming in is going to be last but just making it to the starting line will be an accomplishment in itself,” Graeme Lowdon commented recently and while Nick Chester agreed with this sentiment he felt the team had a reputation to build as well.
“The initial objective we aim to demonstrate is that we should be there,” he emphasizes. “So we turn up and we function efficiently. We want to show that this is a professional operation performing the right things on the circuit. After we prove that our credentials are solid, then we will focus on progression subsequently.”
Driver Lineup and Team Building Drive
In late summer they contracted Checo Pérez and Valtteri as their racers for 2026, a duo distinguished for their invaluable experience in performing at the leading positions in two championship-winning squads, the Red Bull team and Mercedes-AMG, and the Finnish driver echoed the sentiment of determined optimism.
“Certainly, we’re realistic,” Bottas stated. “We have a massive task to do, and it’s going to be probably a difficult start, because this is Formula One. But our goal isn't to stay at the back. I am confident with this setup, with this team, these people, it's entirely possible we can't manage to progress rapidly up to the pace and achieve good results.”
To that end recruitment has been in top gear, with personnel now reaching more than 400 and intended to hit the goal of six hundred swiftly. In addition to their current base at Silverstone, the team are in the phase of completing an main base at the Fishers location in Indianapolis and there is the GM plant in North Carolina, where they are constructing the facility to produce the 2029 engine, set for the 2029 season – for now they will use Ferrari power units – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany. It is a sophisticated organisation, at odds with the direction in Formula One for greater centralisation, and has led to the new cultural approach to which the CTO referred.
Space Mission Inspiration
“It's closely based on the NASA moon mission,” stated Graeme Lowdon shortly before the Silverstone race in mid-season. “We have a clear-eyed view, we understand how tough it is. The timelines, are incredibly tight. OK, it's not a space expedition, but it feels like it sometimes.”
So they have embraced, as opposed to the usual hierarchical system, a non-hierarchical approach akin to that of NASA's, where there were a assortment of Apollo teams all working on different aspects of the program at a multiple sites.
“When you must follow a protocol where someone has a problem and they report it to their manager, that leader consults a manager at a different location, it goes back down the chain, it becomes inefficient,” notes Nick Chester. “Therefore we enable staff to really get on with it. Eliminating hierarchical consent for each action is much smoother and faster.”
The Future
The success of this flexible approach will be tested in the pressure of racing next season and there is a significant degree at stake for Formula One, too. Cadillac have taken on as their reserve driver the 25-year-old American Colton Herta
