Approximately one year previously at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were finally given the go-ahead as F1's newest participant for the 2026 season. Establishing the team from scratch has entailed a frenetic work rate that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the Apollo moon landing. As the sport descends on Vegas this weekend, Cadillac know time is getting tight.
The Countdown to Australia
At the final race of the season to be held in the United States, with approximately 100 days to go before they hit the circuit for the inaugural time in Australia at the 2026 opener, the Cadillac F1 project have made significant progress but, in what must seem like a sisyphean challenge, they are aware there will not be enough hours in the day.
The CTO, Nick Chester, came aboard the newly formed operation in the spring of 2023 soon after it was established, when the team were without even an approved entry. He has been at its heart ever since and gets a amused expression when considering the ride.
“There might be a short period looking back at what you have accomplished and think: ‘Amazing, isn’t this fantastic what we have built in a short three-year period,’” Chester states. “Then the very next instant you consider: ‘Yeah, there is still a great deal to do.’”
An Unprecedented Task
Chester had success at the Renault team in the driver Fernando Alonso's title-winning seasons of 2005/2006 and was in command of technical direction at the recently formed Mercedes electric racing team, but no other project has truly matched the task of launching the quintessentially American Cadillac marque, a works entry backed by the parent company, General Motors, into Formula One.
“Creating an grand prix team from nothing, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” Chester remarks. “It's unparalleled. In an existing team you don’t get the chance to alter organizational mindset.”
With each passing day that passes focus are more focused on the impending critical moment in the Australian GP and expectations are being handled.
“One must presume that any new team joining the grid is going to be last but merely participating will be an accomplishment in itself,” the team principal noted recently and while the CTO shared this view he believed the squad had a point to prove as well.
“Our primary goal we want to show is that we belong on the grid,” he emphasizes. “So we turn up and we function efficiently. We aim to demonstrate that we are a serious contender doing the correct procedures on the track. Once we have demonstrated that we are a legitimate team, then we will focus on progression from there on.”
Pilot Selection and Team Building Push
In August they signed Sergio Pérez and Bottas as their drivers for 2026, a duo distinguished for their vast knowledge in competing at the leading positions in two of the sport’s biggest teams, Red Bull and Mercedes, and the Finnish driver expressed the sentiment of fighting spirit.
“Naturally, we’re realistic,” he said. “There’s going to be a huge amount of work to do, and it’s going to be most likely a tough opening, because it is F1. But we’re not there to finish last. In my view given this organization, with these individuals, this staff, it's entirely possible we won't be able to advance swiftly to a competitive level and taste victory.”
To achieve that goal hiring has been in full swing, with employees now up to over 400 and intended to reach the target of six hundred rapidly. Complementing their current base at the UK base, the team are in the midst of finishing an HQ at Fishers, Indiana in Indy and there is the GM plant in Charlotte, where they are developing the center to manufacture the power unit, scheduled for 2029 – for now they will use power from Ferrari – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne. It is a complex organisation, at odds with the movement in F1 for increased consolidation, and has prompted the fresh organizational mindset to which Chester referred.
Space Mission Model
“We've drawn heavily from the Apollo program,” said Graeme Lowdon shortly before the British Grand Prix in July. “We have a clear-eyed view, we know how tough it is. The timelines, they’re super, super, super short. OK, it's not a space expedition, but it can seem that way.”
So they have implemented, as opposed to the traditional management structure, a non-hierarchical approach comparable to that of NASA's, where there were a assortment of Apollo teams all tackling different aspects of the program at a variety of locations.
“When you must follow a procedure where an issue arises and they escalate it to their supervisor, that supervisor consults a supervisor at a different location, it travels back down, the process is very slow,” notes Nick Chester. “So we empower team members to take charge. Eliminating managerial sign-off for all decisions is far more efficient and faster.”
What Lies Ahead
The success of this agile strategy will be tested in the heat of competition when the season begins and there is a significant degree on the line for the sport, too. Cadillac have signed as their reserve driver the young American Colton Herta
