A little more than twelve months previously at the Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were finally awarded the go-ahead as F1's most recent participant for the 2026 season. Establishing the organization from the ground up has required a frenetic work rate that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo moon landing. As F1 converges on Las Vegas this weekend, the team know the clock is ticking.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the last event of the campaign to be held in the America, with just over 100 days to go before they make their debut 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 monumental endeavor, they are conscious there will not be sufficient time.
The technical director, Nick Chester, joined the newly formed team in March 2023 not long after it was created, when the organization were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its center since then and enjoys a amused expression when reflecting on the ride.
“There might be a short period thinking back at what you’ve done and say: ‘Wow, how impressive what we have built in under three years,’” he says. “Then the very next instant you realize: ‘Yes, we’ve still got a significant amount to do.’”
A Unique Task
Nick Chester achieved victories at the Renault team in the driver Fernando Alonso's championship-winning years of 2005/2006 and was in control of engineering strategy at the new Mercedes electric racing team, but no previous experience has truly matched the task of introducing the all-American Cadillac marque, a factory team supported by the parent company, General Motors, into Formula One.
“Establishing an Formula One team from nothing, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” Chester remarks. “There's nothing comparable. In an existing team you rarely get the opportunity to change team culture.”
With each day that goes by thoughts are more focused on the looming moment of truth in Australia and goals are being handled.
“You have to assume that any incoming team joining the grid is likely to start at the back but simply getting on to the grid will be an achievement in itself,” Lowdon noted recently and while Nick Chester shared this view he thought the squad had a statement to make as well.
“The first thing we aim to demonstrate is that we belong on the grid,” he emphasizes. “So that we show up and we perform competently. We want to show that we are a serious contender performing the proper actions on the track. Once we’ve shown that we are a legitimate team, then we will focus on improvement after that.”
Racing Talent and Team Building Push
In the summer they contracted Sergio Pérez and Bottas as their drivers for 2026, a duo remarkable for their vast knowledge in competing at the leading positions in two top-tier teams, Red Bull and Mercedes, and Bottas expressed the mood of fighting spirit.
“Of course, we’re realistic,” Bottas stated. “We have a huge amount of work to do, and it’s going to be probably a tough opening, because this is Formula One. But we aren't joining to stay at the back. I am confident with this structure, with these individuals, these people, it's entirely possible we shouldn’t be able to advance swiftly to a competitive level and enjoy some success.”
To achieve that goal staff acquisition has been in overdrive, with personnel now reaching in excess of 400 and scheduled to reach the objective of 600 quickly. Complementing their present headquarters at Silverstone, the organization are in the phase of completing an HQ at Fishers in Indianapolis and there is the GM works in Charlotte, where they are building the facility to produce the 2029 engine, planned for 2029 – until then they will use Ferrari engines – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany. It is a intricate organization, at odds with the direction in the sport for increased consolidation, and has led to the fresh organizational mindset to which Nick Chester referred to.
NASA Inspiration
“We've drawn heavily from the Apollo program,” remarked the team principal shortly before the British GP in the summer. “We have a clear-eyed view, we recognize how challenging it is. The timelines, they’re super, super, super short. Well, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but it can seem that way.”
So they have adopted, instead of the conventional chain of command, a non-hierarchical approach similar to that of NASA's, where there were a variety of specialist groups all working on distinct elements of the program across a different facilities.
“When you must follow a protocol where someone has a problem and they raise it up to their supervisor, that manager talks to a supervisor at a different location, it travels back down, it’s super slow,” notes the CTO. “So we empower staff to take charge. Avoiding management approval for everything is much smoother and more rapid.”
The Future
The efficacy of this agile approach will be tested in the intensity of Grand Prix when the season begins and there is a considerable amount riding on this for the sport, too. Cadillac have signed as their development driver the young American Colton Herta
