Approximately a full year previously at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately awarded the official approval as F1's newest participant for 2026. Building the squad from nothing has involved a frenetic work rate that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo moon landing. As the sport descends on Las Vegas this race weekend, the team understand time is getting tight.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the last event of the campaign to be held in the America, with just over a hundred days to go before they hit the circuit for the first time in Australia at the first race of 2026, the Cadillac F1 project have made significant progress 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 newly formed operation in the spring of 2023 shortly after it was established, when the organization were without even an official entry. He has been at its core ever since and gets a knowing grin when reflecting on the experience.
“There might be five minutes looking back at what you’ve done and think: ‘Incredible, isn’t this fantastic what we have built in under three years,’” Chester states. “Then the next minute you realize: ‘Yeah, we still have a great deal to do.’”
A One-of-a-Kind Challenge
Chester achieved victories at Renault in the driver Fernando Alonso's victorious seasons of 2005 and 2006 and was in command of technical development at the new Mercedes Formula E team, but no other project has truly matched the mission of introducing the iconic American Cadillac brand, a manufacturer-backed entry sponsored by the corporate entity, GM, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Creating an F1 team from nothing, when will you ever have the possibility to do that?” he observes. “It is like nothing else. In an established team you rarely get the chance to alter cultural approach.”
With every day that passes thoughts are increasingly concentrated on the impending moment of truth in Melbourne and expectations are being handled.
“You have to assume that a brand-new squad coming in is probably going to finish last but merely participating will be an feat in itself,” the team principal noted recently and while Nick Chester echoed this he thought the team had a reputation to build 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 seek to prove that we are a serious contender executing the proper actions on the track. When we prove that our credentials are solid, then we aim to demonstrate improvement from there on.”
Racing Talent and Recruitment Effort
In late summer they recruited Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas as their pilots for 2026, a tandem notable for their priceless expertise in competing at the front in two of the sport’s biggest teams, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes, and the Finnish driver echoed the sentiment of determined optimism.
“Naturally, we’re realistic,” Bottas stated. “We have a massive task to do, and it will likely be most likely a difficult start, because this is Formula One. But we’re not there to stay at the back. In my view with this setup, with this group, this staff, there is every reason that we won't be able to progress rapidly up to the pace and enjoy some success.”
To that end hiring has been in top gear, with personnel now at over 400 and planned to hit the objective of 600 members swiftly. In addition to their current base at Silverstone, the team are in the midst of finishing an main base at Fishers, Indiana in Indy and there is the General Motors facility in Charlotte, where they are developing the center to build the 2029 engine, planned for 2029 – in the meantime they will use power from Ferrari – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Germany. It is a sophisticated organisation, different from the movement in F1 for greater centralisation, and has led to the fresh organizational mindset to which Nick Chester referred to.
Apollo Model
“We've drawn heavily from the Apollo project,” said Lowdon just before the Silverstone race in July. “We are pragmatic, we understand how difficult it is. The schedules, are extremely compressed. OK, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but it can seem that way.”
So they have implemented, rather than the conventional chain of command, a non-hierarchical approach akin to that of NASA's, where there were a range of specialist groups all tackling distinct elements of the mission at a variety of locations.
“When you must follow a process where an issue arises and they report it to their supervisor, that manager consults a supervisor in another department, it goes back down the chain, it’s super slow,” says Chester. “We give authority to people to take charge. Eliminating hierarchical consent for everything is far more efficient and more rapid.”
What Lies Ahead
The effectiveness of this flexible methodology will be tested in the pressure of racing in 2026 and there is a significant degree on the line for Formula One, too. The Cadillac team have recruited as their development driver the young American Colton Herta
