Approximately one year previously at the Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were finally given the go-ahead as the world of Formula One's most recent entry for 2026. Constructing the squad from nothing has involved a intense pace of work that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the Apollo program. As the sport arrives on Las Vegas this race weekend, Cadillac understand time is getting tight.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the final race of the season to be staged in the United States, with approximately three months to go before they make their debut for the inaugural time in Australia at the 2026 opener, the Cadillac F1 project have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a never-ending challenge, they are aware there will not be adequate time.
The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, came aboard the nascent team in the spring of 2023 not long after it was formed, when the team were without even an approved entry. He has been at its heart ever since and enjoys a amused expression when reflecting on the experience.
“You might get five minutes reflecting at what you’ve done and go: ‘Amazing, isn’t this fantastic what we have built in under three years,’” he notes. “Then the next minute you consider: ‘Yeah, there is still quite a lot to do.’”
A One-of-a-Kind Opportunity
Chester had success at the Renault team in the driver Fernando Alonso's championship-winning years of the mid-2000s and was in control of engineering strategy at the then-new Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but nothing has quite compared with the challenge of introducing the iconic American Cadillac marque, a factory team sponsored by the owner, General Motors, into Formula One.
“Establishing an F1 team from scratch, when will you ever have the possibility to do that?” Chester remarks. “There's nothing comparable. In an existing team you won't have the chance to change cultural approach.”
With each day that goes by focus are increasingly concentrated on the looming moment of truth in Australia and goals are being set realistically.
“One must presume that a brand-new squad entering the sport is probably going to finish last but merely participating will be an feat in itself,” Graeme Lowdon commented this year and while Nick Chester shared this view he believed the squad had a point to prove as well.
“The initial objective we intend to prove is that we should be there,” he says. “So that we arrive and we perform competently. We seek to prove that we’re a proper team executing the correct procedures on the circuit. When we have demonstrated that our credentials are solid, then we want to show forward movement from there on.”
Racing Talent and Hiring Push
In the summer they contracted Checo Pérez and Valtteri as their drivers for 2026, a pair remarkable for their invaluable experience in performing at the sharp end in two top-tier teams, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes-AMG, and Valtteri Bottas echoed the mood of fighting spirit.
“Certainly, we have a realistic outlook,” he commented. “There’s going to be a mountain of work to do, and it’s going to be probably a difficult start, because it's the top level of motorsport. But our goal isn't to remain at the rear. I am confident given this organization, with these individuals, this staff, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to advance swiftly to a competitive level and taste victory.”
To achieve that goal staff acquisition has been in overdrive, with staff now at in excess of 400 and intended to reach the goal of 600 members quickly. In addition to their current base at the UK base, the team are in the process of completing an HQ at Fishers, Indiana in Indy and there is the GM works in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are constructing the center to build the new engine, planned for 2029 – in the meantime they will operate with Ferrari engines – and the aerodynamic facility in Germany. It is a sophisticated structure, at odds with the movement in Formula One for increased consolidation, and has inspired the fresh organizational mindset to which Nick Chester referred.
NASA Blueprint
“It's closely based on the Apollo project,” said the team principal shortly before the British GP in mid-season. “We’re realistic, we understand how difficult it is. The schedules, they’re super, super, super short. Well, it's not a space expedition, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have embraced, as opposed to the conventional chain of command, a flat management structure comparable to that of the space agency's, where there were a variety of Apollo teams all working on various components of the mission in a multiple sites.
“When you must follow a process where someone has a problem and they report it to their supervisor, that supervisor consults a leader somewhere else, it travels back down, it’s super slow,” notes Nick Chester. “So we empower people to take charge. Avoiding management approval for each action is so much cleaner and quicker.”
What Lies Ahead
The success of this agile methodology will be proven in the intensity of Grand Prix in 2026 and there is a considerable amount on the line for the sport, too. Cadillac have recruited as their test driver the 25-year-old Californian Colton Herta
