Approximately twelve months previously at the Nevada Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were at last given the official approval as the world of Formula One's most recent entry for 2026. Establishing the team from scratch has entailed a frenetic work rate that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the Apollo program. As Formula One arrives on the Vegas strip this race weekend, Cadillac know the deadline is approaching.
The Race Against Time to Australia
At the final race of the championship to be held in the America, with just over three months to go before they take to the track for the inaugural time in Melbourne at the 2026 season opener, Cadillac have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a sisyphean task, they are conscious there will never be sufficient time.
The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, became part of the embryonic team in early 2023 not long after it was created, when the team were without even an approved entry. He has been at its core from that point and enjoys a wry smile when reflecting on the journey.
“You might get a short period reflecting at what the team has achieved and go: ‘Amazing, how impressive what we’ve done in under three years,’” he says. “But then the very next instant you think: ‘Yes, we’ve still got a significant amount to do.’”
A One-of-a-Kind Challenge
The CTO achieved victories at Renault in Alonso's victorious seasons of 2005 and 2006 and was in command of technical development at the new Mercedes Formula E team, but no other project has truly matched the task of introducing the quintessentially American Cadillac marque, a manufacturer-backed entry supported by the owner, General Motors, into F1.
“Creating an Formula One team from scratch, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” he says. “It is like nothing else. In an established team you don’t get the possibility to change cultural approach.”
With each passing day that goes by minds are sharper on the impending critical moment in the Australian GP and targets are being managed.
“It's reasonable to expect that a brand-new squad entering the sport is going to be last but just making it to the starting line will be an feat in itself,” the team principal stated this year and while Chester echoed this he felt the team had a statement to make as well.
“The first thing we want to show is that we deserve to be there,” Chester explains. “In order that we show up and we function efficiently. We seek to prove that this is a professional operation doing the correct procedures on the race track. When we’ve shown that we’re really credible, then we aim to demonstrate improvement from there on.”
Driver Lineup and Team Building Drive
In the summer they signed Checo Pérez and Bottas as their drivers for 2026, a tandem distinguished for their priceless expertise in competing at the leading positions in two of the sport’s biggest teams, Red Bull and Mercedes, and the Finnish driver expressed the attitude of determined optimism.
“Of course, we have a realistic outlook,” he commented. “We have a huge amount 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. I believe with this structure, with this group, this staff, there’s no reason why we won't be able to advance swiftly up to the pace and enjoy some success.”
To that end hiring has been in full swing, with staff now reaching in excess of 400 and planned to attain the objective of 600 members rapidly. Complementing their existing facility at the Silverstone circuit, the team are in the phase of finishing an HQ at Fishers in Indianapolis and there is the GM works in Charlotte, where they are building the plant to produce the 2029 engine, planned for 2029 – until then they will run Ferrari power units – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Germany. It is a intricate structure, contrary to the direction in the sport for increased consolidation, and has prompted the new cultural approach to which Nick Chester referred to.
Apollo Blueprint
“It's closely based on the Apollo program,” remarked Graeme Lowdon shortly before the British GP in the summer. “We are pragmatic, we understand how challenging it is. The schedules, they’re super, super, super short. OK, we aren't launching a lunar mission, but it can seem that way.”
So they have implemented, rather than the conventional chain of command, a flat management structure akin to that of the space agency's, where there were a range of project teams all focusing on distinct elements of the mission in a variety of locations.
“If you have to go through a protocol where an issue arises and they escalate it to their supervisor, that manager talks to a leader in another department, it is relayed back, it becomes inefficient,” says Nick Chester. “So we empower team members to take charge. Avoiding hierarchical consent for everything is much smoother and faster.”
The Future
The efficacy of this nimble approach will be proven in the pressure of racing next season and there is a significant degree at stake for the sport, too. Cadillac have recruited as their test driver the emerging Californian Colton Herta
