Approximately twelve months previously at the Nevada Grand Prix, Cadillac were finally awarded the official approval as Formula One’s latest entry for 2026. Building the team from nothing has required a hectic operating tempo that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the NASA lunar mission. As Formula One descends on Vegas this race weekend, Cadillac know time is getting tight.
The Tight Timeline to Australia
At the last event of the championship to be hosted in the America, with approximately 100 days to go before they hit the circuit for the first time in Australia at the 2026 season opener, the Cadillac F1 project have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a monumental task, they are cognizant there will not be adequate time.
The CTO, Nick Chester, became part of the embryonic project in early 2023 not long after it was created, when the organization were without even an official entry. He has been at its core since then and has a knowing grin when reflecting on the ride.
“You can have five minutes looking back at what you have accomplished and think: ‘Amazing, what an achievement what we’ve done in under three years,’” he says. “But then the very next instant you realize: ‘Yes, we still have a significant amount to do.’”
A Unique Task
Nick Chester achieved victories at the Renault team in Fernando Alonso’s title-winning years of 2005/2006 and was in charge of technical development at the recently formed Mercedes Formula E team, but no other project has quite compared with the mission of bringing the iconic American Cadillac brand, a factory team supported by the parent company, GM, into F1.
“Establishing an Formula One team from scratch, when will you ever have the possibility to do that?” he says. “There's nothing comparable. In an established team you rarely get the opportunity to change team culture.”
With each passing day that elapses minds are sharper on the impending critical moment in Australia and expectations are being set realistically.
“You have to assume that a brand-new squad coming in is going to be last but just making it to the starting line will be an achievement in itself,” Graeme Lowdon stated earlier this year and while the CTO echoed this he thought the team had a reputation to build as well.
“The initial objective we want to show is that we should be there,” he emphasizes. “In order that we turn up and we operate well. We want to show that we are a serious contender performing the correct procedures on the circuit. When we prove that we are a legitimate team, then we aim to demonstrate progression after that.”
Driver Lineup and Team Building Effort
In late summer they recruited Checo Pérez and Valtteri Bottas as their racers for the 2026 season, a pair distinguished for their vast knowledge in performing at the front in two championship-winning squads, the Red Bull team and Mercedes-AMG, and the Finnish driver reflected the mood of determined optimism.
“Of course, we are pragmatic,” Bottas stated. “We have a massive task to do, and it’s going to be probably a difficult start, because it's the top level of motorsport. But we aren't joining to stay at the back. I believe with this structure, with these individuals, this staff, it's entirely possible we won't be able to advance swiftly to the front and enjoy some success.”
To achieve that goal recruitment has been in full swing, with personnel now at in excess of 400 and intended to reach the goal of 600 quickly. Alongside their current base at the Silverstone circuit, the squad are in the midst of finishing an headquarters at the Fishers location in Indianapolis and there is the General Motors facility in Charlotte, where they are constructing the center to manufacture the 2029 engine, planned for the 2029 season – for now they will operate with power from Ferrari – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Cologne. It is a complex organization, at odds with the trend in F1 for more centralization, and has led to the innovative team culture to which Chester referred to.
Apollo Model
“It’s highly modelled on the Apollo project,” said Graeme Lowdon shortly before the Silverstone race in mid-season. “We have a clear-eyed view, we understand how difficult it is. The deadlines, they’re super, super, super short. Alright, we aren't launching a lunar mission, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have implemented, as opposed to the conventional chain of command, a non-hierarchical approach comparable to that of the space agency's, where there were a variety of Apollo teams all focusing on distinct elements of the project across a variety of locations.
“When you must follow a procedure where a challenge emerges and they report it to their supervisor, that leader talks to a manager in another department, it travels back down, it’s super slow,” notes Chester. “Therefore we enable team members to take charge. Eliminating hierarchical consent for all decisions is far more efficient and faster.”
Upcoming Challenges
The success of this flexible strategy will be proven in the pressure of racing next season and there is a considerable amount on the line for the sport, too. The Cadillac team have taken on as their development driver the emerging American Colton Herta
