Approximately twelve months previously at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were finally awarded the official approval as Formula One’s latest participant for 2026. Establishing the organization from nothing has required a hectic work rate that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo program. As Formula One converges on Vegas this race weekend, the team are aware the clock is ticking.
The Race Against Time to Melbourne
At the last event of the campaign to be held in the United States, with approximately 100 days to go before they take to the track for the maiden outing in Melbourne at the 2026 season opener, the Cadillac F1 project have made significant progress but, in what must seem like a never-ending endeavor, they are aware there will not be enough hours in the day.
The CTO, Nick Chester, came aboard the newly formed team in March 2023 shortly after it was created, when the organization were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its core since then and enjoys a wry smile when thinking about the journey.
“There might be a brief moment thinking back at what the team has achieved and think: ‘Wow, how impressive what the team has created in less than three years,’” he says. “But then the very next instant you realize: ‘Yes, we still have quite a lot to do.’”
A Unique Opportunity
The CTO achieved victories at the Renault team in Fernando Alonso’s title-winning campaigns of 2005 and 2006 and was in control of technical development at the then-new Mercedes Formula E team, but nothing has been quite like the task of introducing the iconic American Cadillac brand, a works entry backed by the owner, General Motors Corporation, into Formula One.
“Creating an grand prix team from scratch, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he says. “There's nothing comparable. In an well-set team you won't have the chance to alter cultural approach.”
With each day that passes minds are sharper on the approaching decisive point in Melbourne and expectations are being handled.
“You have to assume that any new team joining the grid is likely to start at the back but just making it to the starting line will be an accomplishment in itself,” Lowdon stated recently and while Chester echoed this he felt the squad had a reputation to build as well.
“The first thing we aim to demonstrate is that we deserve to be there,” he emphasizes. “In order that we arrive and we perform competently. We aim to demonstrate that this is a professional operation doing the right things on the race track. Once we prove that our credentials are solid, then we aim to demonstrate improvement subsequently.”
Driver Lineup and Recruitment Push
In the summer they recruited Checo Pérez and Valtteri as their racers for 2026, a tandem distinguished for their vast knowledge in competing at the front in two of the sport’s biggest teams, the Red Bull team and Mercedes, and Bottas reflected the attitude of fighting spirit.
“Certainly, we are pragmatic,” he said. “We face a massive task to do, and we expect most likely a challenging beginning, because this is Formula One. But our goal isn't to stay at the back. In my view with this setup, with this group, these personnel, there is every reason that we won't be able to advance swiftly to the front and taste victory.”
To realize that ambition hiring has been in top gear, with personnel now up to over 400 and scheduled to attain the goal of 600 members quickly. Complementing their present headquarters at the UK base, the team are in the process of finishing an headquarters at Fishers in Indy and there is the GM plant in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are building the facility to manufacture the power unit, scheduled for 2029 – until then they will operate with Ferrari power units – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Germany. It is a sophisticated organisation, different from the movement in the sport for increased consolidation, and has led to the fresh organizational mindset to which the CTO alluded.
NASA Blueprint
“It's closely based on the Apollo program,” remarked the team principal just before the Silverstone race in mid-season. “We are pragmatic, we know how tough it is. The timelines, are incredibly tight. Alright, it's not a space expedition, but it can seem that way.”
So they have implemented, as opposed to the conventional chain of command, a non-hierarchical approach similar to that of Nasa’s, where there were a variety of project teams all tackling different aspects of the mission across a multiple sites.
“If you have to go through a protocol where someone has a problem and they escalate it to their manager, that supervisor communicates with a leader somewhere else, it goes back down the chain, it’s super slow,” explains Chester. “So we empower staff to take charge. Moving away from managerial sign-off for each action is much smoother and faster.”
Upcoming Challenges
The effectiveness of this nimble strategy will be evaluated in the heat of competition when the season begins and there is a significant degree at stake for the sport, too. The Cadillac team have taken on as their development driver the young Californian Colton Herta
