A little more than a full year ago at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were finally awarded the go-ahead as the world of Formula One's most recent entrant for the 2026 season. Building the squad from scratch has involved a hectic work rate that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the NASA lunar mission. As F1 converges on the Vegas strip this race weekend, Cadillac know time is getting tight.
The Race Against Time to Australia
At the final race of the season to be held in the America, with around 100 days to go before they make their debut for the maiden outing in Australia at the first race of 2026, the Cadillac F1 project have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a sisyphean challenge, they are cognizant there will not be adequate time.
The CTO, Nick Chester, became part of the nascent operation in early 2023 soon after it was formed, when the squad were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its center from that point and enjoys a wry smile when thinking about the experience.
“You can have a short period reflecting at what you’ve done and go: ‘Wow, what an achievement what we’ve done in less than three years,’” Chester states. “Then the next minute you consider: ‘Yes, we still have a significant amount to do.’”
An Unprecedented Opportunity
The CTO enjoyed success at the Renault team in Fernando Alonso’s victorious seasons of 2005/2006 and was in control of technical development at the then-new Mercedes electric racing team, but nothing has truly matched the task of launching the iconic American Cadillac brand, a manufacturer-backed entry backed by the corporate entity, General Motors Corporation, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Creating an Formula One team from nothing, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he says. “There's nothing comparable. In an established team you won't have the possibility to transform team culture.”
With each passing day that elapses focus are increasingly concentrated on the looming moment of truth in Melbourne and expectations are being handled.
“One must presume that any incoming team coming in is probably going to finish last but simply getting on to the grid will be an feat in itself,” Lowdon noted recently and while the CTO agreed with this sentiment he believed the team had a statement to make as well.
“The first thing we aim to demonstrate is that we deserve to be there,” he says. “So we turn up and we function efficiently. We want to show that this is a professional operation performing the correct procedures on the circuit. When we have demonstrated that our credentials are solid, then we will focus on improvement subsequently.”
Pilot Selection and Recruitment Drive
In the summer they signed Checo Pérez and Valtteri Bottas as their pilots for 2026, a pair distinguished for their vast knowledge in operating at the front in two championship-winning squads, Red Bull and Mercedes-AMG, and Valtteri Bottas expressed the sentiment of combative optimism.
“Of course, we have a realistic outlook,” Bottas stated. “We face a mountain of work to do, and it’s going to be most likely a difficult start, because it's the top level of motorsport. But we aren't joining to stay at the back. I believe given this organization, with these individuals, these people, there is every reason that we won't be able to advance swiftly up to the pace and enjoy some success.”
To achieve that goal hiring has been in top gear, with employees now reaching in excess of 400 and intended to reach the objective of 600 swiftly. In addition to their existing facility at the Silverstone circuit, the squad are in the phase of building an main base at the Fishers location in Indy and there is the GM works in Charlotte, where they are developing the facility to produce the power unit, planned for 2029 – in the meantime they will use Ferrari power units – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne. It is a complex structure, contrary to the trend in Formula One for increased consolidation, and has prompted the innovative team culture to which Nick Chester referred.
Space Mission Blueprint
“We've drawn heavily from the Apollo program,” stated Lowdon shortly before the British GP in the summer. “We have a clear-eyed view, we understand how challenging it is. The schedules, are extremely compressed. Alright, we aren't launching a lunar mission, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have embraced, rather than the conventional chain of command, a non-hierarchical approach comparable to that of Nasa’s, where there were a variety of specialist groups all focusing on various components of the program at a different facilities.
“If you have to go through a protocol where someone has a problem and they escalate it to their team leader, that leader communicates with a manager in another department, it travels back down, the process is very slow,” notes the CTO. “We give authority to people to take charge. Moving away from management approval for each action is far more efficient and faster.”
What Lies Ahead
The effectiveness of this flexible methodology will be evaluated in the intensity of Grand Prix next season and there is a considerable amount at stake for F1, too. Cadillac have taken on as their reserve driver the 25-year-old Californian Colton Herta
