Approximately one year previously at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were finally given the official approval as the world of Formula One's newest participant for the 2026 season. Building the squad from the ground up has entailed a hectic operating tempo that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo program. As the sport descends on Vegas this race weekend, Cadillac understand the clock is ticking.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the season finale of the championship to be staged in the US, with just over 100 days to go before they make their debut for the maiden outing in Melbourne at the first race of 2026, the Cadillac F1 project have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a sisyphean challenge, they are conscious there will never be sufficient time.
The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, became part of the nascent team in the spring of 2023 shortly after it was created, when the team were without even an approved entry. He has been at its heart since then and enjoys a wry smile when reflecting on the journey.
“You might get a short period thinking back at what you’ve done and say: ‘Incredible, what an achievement what we have built in a short three-year period,’” he says. “But then the very next instant you realize: ‘Well, we’ve still got quite a lot to do.’”
A Unique Task
The CTO enjoyed success at Renault in Fernando Alonso’s title-winning seasons of 2005/2006 and was in control of technical direction at the new Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but no other project has quite compared with the task of bringing the iconic American Cadillac name, a manufacturer-backed entry sponsored by the corporate entity, GM, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Creating an grand prix team from nothing, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” Chester remarks. “It's unparalleled. In an well-set team you don’t get the chance to change organizational mindset.”
With every day that elapses focus are more focused on the approaching critical moment in the Australian GP and expectations are being managed.
“It's reasonable to expect that any new team coming in is likely to start at the back but just making it to the starting line will be an feat in itself,” Graeme Lowdon commented recently and while Chester agreed with this sentiment he believed the organization had a point to prove as well.
“The first thing we want to show is that we should be there,” he emphasizes. “In order that we arrive and we perform competently. We aim to demonstrate that we are a serious contender executing the proper actions on the race track. After we prove that our credentials are solid, then we aim to demonstrate improvement after that.”
Pilot Selection and Team Building Drive
In late summer they signed Sergio Perez and Bottas as their racers for the 2026 season, a duo remarkable for their priceless expertise in operating at the sharp end in two top-tier teams, Red Bull and Mercedes, and Valtteri Bottas expressed the mood of determined optimism.
“Naturally, we have a realistic outlook,” Bottas stated. “There’s going to be a huge amount of work to do, and it’s going to be almost certainly a difficult start, because it's the top level of motorsport. But our goal isn't to stay at the back. I believe with this setup, with these individuals, these personnel, there’s no reason why we can't manage to progress rapidly up to the pace and achieve good results.”
To achieve that goal staff acquisition has been in full swing, with personnel now up to in excess of 400 and intended to attain the goal of six hundred swiftly. Alongside their current base at the Silverstone circuit, the organization are in the midst of completing an headquarters at Fishers, Indiana in Indianapolis and there is the GM plant in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are developing the plant to build the new engine, scheduled for 2029 – for now they will use Ferrari power units – and the aerodynamic facility in Germany. It is a complex organisation, at odds with the direction in the sport for increased consolidation, and has inspired the innovative team culture to which the CTO alluded.
Space Mission Model
“It's closely based on the Apollo project,” said Lowdon just before the British Grand Prix in July. “We have a clear-eyed view, we know how challenging it is. The schedules, are extremely compressed. Well, it's not a space expedition, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have embraced, as opposed to the usual hierarchical system, a non-hierarchical approach similar to that of the space agency's, where there were a range of Apollo teams all working on various components of the mission at a variety of locations.
“If you have to go through a procedure where someone has a problem and they raise it up to their manager, that manager talks to a leader at a different location, it is relayed back, it becomes inefficient,” notes Nick Chester. “We give authority to people to take charge. Moving away from hierarchical consent for each action is far more efficient and quicker.”
The Future
The effectiveness of this agile strategy will be evaluated in the heat of competition next season and there is a significant degree riding on this for the sport, too. Cadillac have recruited as their test driver the 25-year-old American Colton Herta
