A little more than twelve months in the past at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were at last awarded the green light as Formula One’s latest entry for the 2026 season. Establishing the squad from the ground up has involved a hectic operating tempo that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the NASA lunar mission. As F1 converges on the Vegas strip this race weekend, the team know the deadline is approaching.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the last event of the championship to be held in the US, with approximately a hundred days to go before they hit the circuit for the inaugural time in Australia at the first race of 2026, Cadillac have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a sisyphean endeavor, they are conscious there will not be sufficient time.
The technical director, Nick Chester, became part of the newly formed team in early 2023 shortly after it was created, when the team were without even an approved entry. He has been at its core since then and enjoys a amused expression when considering the experience.
“You can have a short period looking back at what the team has achieved and think: ‘Wow, isn’t this fantastic what the team has created in a short three-year period,’” Chester states. “And then the following moment you consider: ‘Well, we’ve still got a great deal to do.’”
An Unprecedented Opportunity
Nick Chester had success at Renault in Fernando Alonso’s championship-winning campaigns of 2005/2006 and was in control of technical development at the recently formed Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but no previous experience has truly matched the mission of launching the all-American Cadillac marque, a manufacturer-backed entry supported by the parent company, GM, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Establishing an Formula One team from nothing, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” he says. “It is like nothing else. In an established team you don’t get the possibility to alter cultural approach.”
With each passing day that elapses minds are more focused on the looming moment of truth in the Australian GP and goals are being managed.
“You have to assume that a brand-new squad joining the grid is likely to start at the back but simply getting on to the grid will be an feat in itself,” the team principal commented earlier this year and while Chester agreed with this sentiment he thought the team had a reputation to build as well.
“Our primary goal we intend to prove is that we belong on the grid,” he says. “In order that we arrive and we function efficiently. We seek to prove that we are a serious contender performing the correct procedures on the race track. Once we prove that we are a legitimate team, then we aim to demonstrate forward movement subsequently.”
Pilot Selection and Hiring Push
In August they recruited Sergio Pérez and Valtteri as their pilots for 2026, a pair notable for their invaluable experience in performing at the front in two championship-winning squads, Red Bull Racing and the Mercedes team, and Valtteri Bottas echoed the attitude of combative optimism.
“Certainly, we have a realistic outlook,” he commented. “We face a mountain of work to do, and it will likely be almost certainly a tough opening, because it is F1. But we aren't joining to finish last. I am confident with this setup, with these individuals, this staff, there’s no reason why we won't be able to progress rapidly up to the pace and enjoy some success.”
To that end hiring has been in overdrive, with staff now at more than 400 and planned to hit the target of 600 quickly. In addition to their present headquarters at Silverstone, the organization are in the phase of finishing an HQ at Fishers in the Indianapolis area and there is the General Motors facility in North Carolina, where they are building the facility to manufacture the 2029 engine, set for 2029 – for now they will run power from Ferrari – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Germany. It is a complex organisation, different from the trend in Formula One for more centralization, and has led to the new cultural approach to which Nick Chester alluded.
Apollo Blueprint
“We've drawn heavily from the NASA moon mission,” said Lowdon just before the Silverstone race in mid-season. “We’re realistic, we know how tough it is. The timelines, are incredibly tight. OK, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but it can seem that way.”
So they have implemented, rather than the traditional management structure, a non-hierarchical approach similar to that of the space agency's, where there were a variety of specialist groups all tackling various components of the mission across a variety of locations.
“If you have to go through a protocol where someone has a problem and they escalate it to their team leader, that manager communicates with a manager at a different location, it is relayed back, it’s super slow,” explains Nick Chester. “Therefore we enable staff to take charge. Eliminating management approval for everything is far more efficient and more rapid.”
What Lies Ahead
The effectiveness of this agile methodology will be evaluated in the pressure of racing when the season begins and there is a significant degree at stake for the sport, too. Cadillac have recruited as their reserve driver the young American Colton Herta
