Just over twelve months ago at the Nevada Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were finally awarded the green light as the world of Formula One's latest participant for the 2026 season. Establishing the squad from the ground up has involved a frenetic pace of work that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the NASA lunar mission. As Formula One arrives on Las Vegas this race weekend, Cadillac know the deadline is approaching.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the last event of the championship to be hosted in the US, with approximately 100 days to go before they take to the track for the first time in Australia at the 2026 opener, Cadillac have made significant progress but, in what must seem like a sisyphean challenge, they are aware there will not be adequate time.
The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, became part of the nascent team in March 2023 not long after it was established, when the organization were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its core from that point and has a amused expression when thinking about the experience.
“You can have a brief moment looking back at what you have accomplished and say: ‘Incredible, isn’t this fantastic what we have built in under three years,’” Chester states. “But then the very next instant you realize: ‘Well, we’ve still got a great deal to do.’”
A Unique Opportunity
Nick Chester enjoyed success at the Renault team in the driver Fernando Alonso's championship-winning years of the mid-2000s and was in control of technical development at the then-new Mercedes Formula E team, but no other project has truly matched the challenge of launching the quintessentially American Cadillac brand, a manufacturer-backed entry supported by the corporate entity, General Motors Corporation, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Establishing an grand prix team from nothing, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” Chester remarks. “There's nothing comparable. In an established team you won't have the opportunity to transform organizational mindset.”
With each passing day that elapses focus are increasingly concentrated on the approaching decisive point in Australia and targets are being managed.
“You have to assume that any incoming team joining the grid is going to be last but just making it to the starting line will be an achievement in itself,” the team principal noted recently and while Chester agreed with this sentiment he thought the team had a statement to make as well.
“The initial objective we aim to demonstrate is that we should be there,” he emphasizes. “So that we turn up and we operate well. We aim to demonstrate that we’re a proper team performing the proper actions on the circuit. Once we have demonstrated that we are a legitimate team, then we aim to demonstrate progression after that.”
Driver Lineup and Hiring Drive
In the summer they recruited Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas as their racers for 2026, a duo distinguished for their invaluable experience in performing at the sharp end in two of the sport’s biggest teams, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes-AMG, and Valtteri Bottas reflected the sentiment of fighting spirit.
“Certainly, we’re realistic,” he commented. “We have a huge amount of work to do, and it’s going to be most likely a tough opening, because this is Formula One. But our goal isn't to finish last. I am confident with this structure, with this team, this staff, there’s no reason why we can't manage to advance swiftly up to the pace and achieve good results.”
To achieve that goal recruitment has been in overdrive, with staff now reaching more than 400 and intended to hit the objective of 600 quickly. In addition to their current base at the Silverstone circuit, the organization are in the process of building an headquarters at Fishers in the Indianapolis area and there is the GM works in North Carolina, where they are building the facility to build the 2029 engine, set for 2029 – for now they will operate with power from Ferrari – and the aerodynamic facility in Cologne. It is a complex structure, contrary to the trend in F1 for more centralization, and has led to the innovative team culture to which Nick Chester alluded.
Apollo Model
“It's closely based on the Apollo program,” said Lowdon ahead of the Silverstone race in the summer. “We are pragmatic, we recognize how challenging it is. The timelines, are extremely compressed. Alright, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have adopted, as opposed to the usual hierarchical system, a flat management structure similar to that of Nasa’s, where there were a variety of specialist groups all tackling distinct elements of the project at a different facilities.
“When you must follow a process where a challenge emerges and they report it to their supervisor, that leader communicates with a manager at a different location, it is relayed back, it’s super slow,” says the CTO. “Therefore we enable team members to handle things directly. Eliminating managerial sign-off for everything is far more efficient and quicker.”
What Lies Ahead
The efficacy of this nimble methodology will be evaluated in the heat of competition next season and there is a significant degree on the line for the sport, too. The Cadillac team have taken on as their development driver the young Californian Colton Herta
