Approximately a full year ago at the Vegas Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were finally awarded the official approval as Formula One’s newest entrant for 2026. Constructing the squad from the ground up has involved a intense work rate that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo moon landing. As Formula One converges on Las Vegas this weekend, Cadillac are aware the deadline is approaching.
The Tight Timeline to Melbourne
At the season finale of the season to be hosted in the US, with approximately 100 days to go before they hit the circuit for the inaugural time in Melbourne at the first race of 2026, Cadillac have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a sisyphean challenge, they are aware there will never be adequate time.
The CTO, Nick Chester, joined the newly formed operation in the spring of 2023 not long after it was established, when the organization were without even an approved entry. He has been at its core ever since and gets a knowing grin when considering the experience.
“You might get five minutes thinking back at what you’ve done and go: ‘Wow, isn’t this fantastic what the team has created in a short three-year period,’” Chester states. “But then the following moment you think: ‘Yes, we still have quite a lot to do.’”
An Unprecedented Task
Chester achieved victories at Renault in Alonso's victorious seasons of the mid-2000s and was in command of technical development at the recently formed Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but no previous experience has been quite like the mission of launching the iconic American Cadillac marque, a manufacturer-backed entry sponsored by the parent company, General Motors, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Creating an F1 team from nothing, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” he says. “It is like nothing else. In an existing team you rarely get the opportunity to change organizational mindset.”
With each passing day that passes thoughts are more focused on the approaching critical moment in Melbourne and targets are being set realistically.
“One must presume that a brand-new squad coming in is probably going to finish last but simply getting on to the grid will be an accomplishment in itself,” the team principal noted this year and while Chester shared this view he thought the squad had a point to prove as well.
“The initial objective we want to show is that we deserve to be there,” Chester explains. “In order that we show up and we function efficiently. We aim to demonstrate that this is a professional operation doing the proper actions on the track. When we’ve shown that we’re really credible, then we want to show progression from there on.”
Pilot Selection and Hiring Drive
In the summer they contracted Sergio Pérez and Valtteri as their racers for 2026, a pair distinguished for their priceless expertise in competing at the front in two championship-winning squads, Red Bull and Mercedes-AMG, and Valtteri Bottas echoed the attitude of combative optimism.
“Certainly, we have a realistic outlook,” Bottas stated. “We face a mountain of work to do, and we expect almost certainly a challenging beginning, because this is Formula One. But we aren't joining to stay at the back. I am confident given this organization, with these individuals, these personnel, there’s no reason why we won't be able to progress rapidly to a competitive level and enjoy some success.”
To that end hiring has been in full swing, with staff now up to over 400 and planned to hit the target of 600 rapidly. In addition to their present headquarters at Silverstone, the organization are in the midst of completing an HQ at the Fishers location in the Indianapolis area and there is the GM plant in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are developing the facility to produce the new engine, scheduled for 2029 – in the meantime they will operate with Ferrari engines – and the aerodynamic facility in Germany. It is a intricate structure, contrary to the trend in Formula One for more centralization, and has prompted the fresh organizational mindset to which the CTO alluded.
Space Mission Inspiration
“We've drawn heavily from the Apollo program,” remarked Graeme Lowdon just before the British GP in July. “We’re realistic, we understand how challenging it is. The schedules, they’re super, super, super short. OK, we aren't launching a lunar mission, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have implemented, rather than the traditional management structure, a non-hierarchical approach comparable to that of NASA's, where there were a variety of specialist groups all tackling various components of the program at a multiple sites.
“In a system where you follow a protocol where a challenge emerges and they escalate it to their supervisor, that supervisor communicates with a supervisor at a different location, it travels back down, the process is very slow,” explains Chester. “So we empower staff to take charge. Avoiding hierarchical consent for everything is far more efficient and faster.”
What Lies Ahead
The success of this flexible methodology will be tested in the pressure of racing when the season begins and there is a considerable amount at stake for the sport, too. The Cadillac team have recruited as their test driver the emerging Californian Colton Herta
