A little more than twelve months ago at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were at last given the official approval as the world of Formula One's most recent entry for 2026. Establishing the team from scratch has involved a frenetic operating tempo that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo moon landing. As F1 converges on Vegas this weekend, Cadillac understand the clock is ticking.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the last event of the season to be hosted in the United States, with just over three months to go before they hit the circuit for the maiden outing in Melbourne at the first race of 2026, Cadillac have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a monumental task, they are aware there will never be enough hours in the day.
The CTO, Nick Chester, joined the embryonic operation in early 2023 soon after it was established, when the organization were without even an approved entry. He has been at its heart since then and enjoys a amused expression when reflecting on the journey.
“You can have a short period looking back at what you have accomplished and go: ‘Incredible, what an achievement what the team has created in a short three-year period,’” he notes. “But then the very next instant you think: ‘Yes, we’ve still got quite a lot to do.’”
An Unprecedented Challenge
Chester had success at Renault in Fernando Alonso’s championship-winning seasons of 2005 and 2006 and was in command of technical direction at the recently formed Mercedes Formula E team, but no other project has been quite like the challenge of bringing the iconic American Cadillac brand, a manufacturer-backed entry supported by the owner, GM, into Formula One.
“Creating an F1 team from nothing, when will you ever have the possibility to do that?” he observes. “There's nothing comparable. In an well-set team you don’t get the possibility to change cultural approach.”
With each passing day that goes by focus are sharper on the impending critical moment in Australia and targets are being set realistically.
“It's reasonable to expect 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 achievement in itself,” Graeme Lowdon commented this year and while Chester echoed this he felt the organization had a reputation to build as well.
“Our primary goal we intend to prove is that we belong on the grid,” Chester explains. “So we turn up and we perform competently. We seek to prove that we are a serious contender performing the proper actions on the circuit. When we have demonstrated that we’re really credible, then we want to show forward movement after that.”
Pilot Selection and Recruitment Push
In August they recruited Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas as their pilots for 2026, a duo notable for their priceless expertise in performing at the leading positions in two top-tier teams, Red Bull and Mercedes-AMG, and Valtteri Bottas reflected the sentiment of fighting spirit.
“Naturally, we are pragmatic,” Bottas stated. “We have a massive task to do, and it will likely be most likely a challenging beginning, because this is Formula One. But we’re not there to finish last. I am confident given this organization, with this team, these people, it's entirely possible we won't be able to advance swiftly to the front and enjoy some success.”
To that end recruitment has been in full swing, with employees now at over 400 and planned to reach the goal of 600 rapidly. Complementing their present headquarters at the UK base, the squad are in the process of finishing an headquarters at the Fishers location in the Indianapolis area and there is the GM plant in North Carolina, where they are constructing the facility to build the 2029 engine, planned for 2029 – until then they will use power from Ferrari – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Germany. It is a sophisticated structure, different from the movement in Formula One for more centralization, and has prompted the innovative team culture to which Nick Chester alluded.
Apollo Inspiration
“We've drawn heavily from the Apollo project,” stated the team principal just before the British Grand Prix in the summer. “We are pragmatic, we know how challenging it is. The deadlines, are incredibly tight. Alright, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but it feels like it sometimes.”
So they have embraced, rather than the conventional chain of command, a decentralized management similar to that of NASA's, where there were a assortment of specialist groups all focusing on various components of the program across a variety of locations.
“In a system where you follow a process where an issue arises and they raise it up to their team leader, that manager communicates with a supervisor in another department, it travels back down, the process is very slow,” explains Chester. “Therefore we enable team members to take charge. Moving away from hierarchical consent for each action is far more efficient and more rapid.”
Upcoming Challenges
The efficacy of this flexible approach will be proven in the heat of competition when the season begins and there is no little amount at stake for Formula One, too. Cadillac have signed as their reserve driver the emerging American Colton Herta
