Just over twelve months ago at the Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately granted the go-ahead as Formula One’s most recent participant for the 2026 season. Establishing the organization from scratch has required a intense pace of work that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the NASA lunar mission. As F1 arrives on Vegas this weekend, Cadillac are aware the deadline is approaching.
The Race Against Time to Melbourne
At the last event of the championship to be hosted in the US, with approximately a hundred days to go before they hit the circuit for the inaugural time in Australia at the 2026 season opener, the Cadillac F1 project have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a never-ending challenge, they are cognizant there will never be adequate time.
The CTO, Nick Chester, joined the nascent operation in early 2023 shortly after it was formed, when the organization were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its heart ever since and enjoys a knowing grin when thinking about the ride.
“You might get a short period reflecting at what you’ve done and go: ‘Amazing, what an achievement what the team has created in a short three-year period,’” Chester states. “Then the very next instant you think: ‘Yeah, we still have quite a lot to do.’”
An Unprecedented Task
Nick Chester had success at the Renault team in Fernando Alonso’s championship-winning seasons of the mid-2000s and was in control of technical development at the then-new Mercedes Formula E team, but no previous experience has been quite like the task of bringing the all-American Cadillac name, a manufacturer-backed entry supported by the parent company, GM, into F1.
“Creating an grand prix team from the ground up, when will you ever have the possibility to do that?” he observes. “There's nothing comparable. In an well-set team you don’t get the opportunity to alter cultural approach.”
With each day that goes by minds are sharper on the approaching moment of truth in the Australian GP and targets are being managed.
“One must presume that any incoming team joining the grid is going to be last but simply getting on to the grid will be an achievement in itself,” Lowdon commented recently and while Nick Chester shared this view he thought the organization had a reputation to build as well.
“The initial objective we intend to prove is that we should be there,” he emphasizes. “So that we arrive and we perform competently. We want to show that we’re a proper team executing the proper actions on the race track. When we’ve shown that we are a legitimate team, then we aim to demonstrate improvement after that.”
Pilot Selection and Team Building Drive
In August they contracted Sergio Pérez and Valtteri as their drivers for 2026, a pair remarkable for their priceless expertise in operating at the leading positions in two championship-winning squads, Red Bull and Mercedes, and Valtteri Bottas expressed the mood of fighting spirit.
“Naturally, we are pragmatic,” he commented. “We have a massive task to do, and we expect almost certainly a difficult start, because this is Formula One. But our goal isn't to remain at the rear. I am confident with this setup, with this group, these personnel, it's entirely possible we shouldn’t be able to get relatively quickly up to the pace and taste victory.”
To that end recruitment has been in overdrive, with personnel now at over 400 and scheduled to hit the objective of 600 rapidly. Complementing their current base at the Silverstone circuit, the squad are in the midst of building an main base at the Fishers location in the Indianapolis area and there is the General Motors facility in North Carolina, where they are developing the plant to manufacture the power unit, set for the 2029 season – in the meantime they will run power from Ferrari – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany. It is a complex organization, different from the trend in the sport for more centralization, and has inspired the innovative team culture to which Nick Chester referred to.
Space Mission Model
“It's closely based on the Apollo project,” stated Graeme Lowdon ahead of the British GP in the summer. “We’re realistic, we understand how difficult it is. The timelines, they’re super, super, super short. Alright, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but it can seem that way.”
So they have implemented, instead of the traditional management structure, a flat management structure comparable to that of Nasa’s, where there were a range of Apollo teams all working on distinct elements of the program at a multiple sites.
“When you must follow a process where someone has a problem and they raise it up to their supervisor, that manager talks to a supervisor in another department, it is relayed back, it’s super slow,” says Chester. “We give authority to staff to really get on with it. Avoiding management approval for everything is much smoother and quicker.”
What Lies Ahead
The effectiveness of this nimble approach will be evaluated in the pressure of racing next season and there is a significant degree on the line for Formula One, too. Cadillac have recruited as their reserve driver the 25-year-old American Colton Herta
