Approximately a full year in the past at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were finally granted the official approval as the world of Formula One's newest entrant for 2026. Constructing the organization from scratch has required a frenetic work rate that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo moon landing. As F1 descends on Vegas this weekend, the team understand the clock is ticking.
The Tight Timeline to Australia
At the last event of the season to be held in the United States, with just over 100 days to go before they take to the track for the inaugural time in Melbourne at the 2026 opener, the Cadillac F1 project have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a never-ending endeavor, they are cognizant there will never be adequate time.
The CTO, Nick Chester, became part of the newly formed operation in early 2023 shortly after it was formed, when the team were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its core ever since and has a wry smile when reflecting on the ride.
“There might be a short period looking back at what the team has achieved and think: ‘Wow, how impressive what we have built in less than three years,’” he notes. “And then the next minute you think: ‘Well, there is still quite a lot to do.’”
An Unprecedented Task
Nick Chester had success at Renault in the driver Fernando Alonso's title-winning years of 2005 and 2006 and was in command of technical development at the then-new Mercedes Formula E team, but nothing has quite compared with the challenge of bringing the all-American Cadillac name, a factory team supported by the parent company, General Motors, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Establishing an Formula One team from scratch, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” he observes. “There's nothing comparable. In an existing team you won't have the chance to alter cultural approach.”
With every day that goes by focus are increasingly concentrated on the impending decisive point in Melbourne and goals are being handled.
“It's reasonable to expect that any incoming team entering the sport is likely to start at the back but simply getting on to the grid will be an accomplishment in itself,” Graeme Lowdon noted earlier this year and while Nick Chester shared this view he believed the squad had a reputation to build as well.
“The initial objective we want to show is that we deserve to be there,” he emphasizes. “In order that we arrive and we operate well. We aim to demonstrate that we are a serious contender executing the correct procedures on the track. Once we prove that our credentials are solid, then we will focus on improvement from there on.”
Driver Lineup and Recruitment Effort
In late summer they contracted Checo Pérez and Bottas as their racers for 2026, a tandem distinguished for their invaluable experience in performing at the front in two championship-winning squads, the Red Bull team and the Mercedes team, and Bottas echoed the mood of combative optimism.
“Of course, we are pragmatic,” he said. “We have a mountain of work to do, and it’s going to be most likely a challenging beginning, because this is Formula One. But we’re not there to finish last. I believe with this structure, with this team, this staff, it's entirely possible we won't be able to advance swiftly up to the pace and enjoy some success.”
To that end recruitment has been in top gear, with employees now up to more than 400 and planned to reach the goal of 600 quickly. Complementing their current base at the Silverstone circuit, the organization are in the midst of completing an main base at Fishers, Indiana in Indianapolis and there is the GM works in Charlotte, where they are developing the center to build the 2029 engine, scheduled for 2029 – for now they will operate with Ferrari engines – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany. It is a complex organisation, contrary to the movement in F1 for increased consolidation, and has led to the fresh organizational mindset to which Nick Chester alluded.
Space Mission Inspiration
“It's closely based on the NASA moon mission,” remarked Graeme Lowdon shortly before the British Grand Prix in mid-season. “We’re realistic, we know how difficult it is. The schedules, are incredibly tight. OK, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have adopted, rather than the usual hierarchical system, a non-hierarchical approach similar to that of Nasa’s, where there were a range of specialist groups all focusing on distinct elements of the project at a variety of locations.
“In a system where you follow a procedure where an issue arises and they raise it up to their manager, that supervisor communicates with a leader in another department, it goes back down the chain, it’s super slow,” notes Chester. “We give authority to people to really get on with it. Avoiding managerial sign-off for everything is so much cleaner and quicker.”
What Lies Ahead
The effectiveness of this agile approach will be evaluated in the heat of competition next season and there is a considerable amount at stake for the sport, too. The Cadillac team have taken on as their reserve driver the emerging American Colton Herta
