Just over twelve months ago at the Vegas Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were at last given the green light as the world of Formula One's most recent entrant for 2026. Establishing the squad from scratch has required a frenetic operating tempo that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo program. As the sport descends on the Vegas strip this race weekend, Cadillac understand the deadline is approaching.
The Tight Timeline to Australia
At the final race of the championship to be held in the United States, with just over 100 days to go before they hit the circuit for the first time in Melbourne at the 2026 opener, the Cadillac F1 project have made significant progress but, in what must seem like a monumental challenge, they are conscious there will never be enough hours in the day.
The technical director, Nick Chester, joined the embryonic project in the spring of 2023 not long after it was established, when the organization were without even an official entry. He has been at its heart since then and has a wry smile when reflecting on the ride.
“There might be a brief moment looking back at what you have accomplished and go: ‘Amazing, what an achievement what we have built in under three years,’” he says. “And then the very next instant you think: ‘Yes, we still have a great deal to do.’”
A Unique Task
The CTO had success at the Renault team in Alonso's championship-winning seasons of the mid-2000s and was in charge of technical direction at the new Mercedes electric racing team, but nothing has been quite like the mission of bringing the iconic American Cadillac marque, a works entry sponsored by the corporate entity, General Motors, into F1.
“Building an F1 team from nothing, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he observes. “It's unparalleled. In an well-set team you won't have the opportunity to alter team culture.”
With each day that passes thoughts are more focused on the impending moment of truth in Melbourne and goals are being managed.
“It's reasonable to expect that any incoming team entering the sport is probably going to finish last but simply getting on to the grid will be an achievement in itself,” Lowdon noted this year and while the CTO echoed this he felt the organization had a statement to make as well.
“The initial objective we want to show is that we belong on the grid,” he emphasizes. “In order that we arrive and we function efficiently. We seek to prove that this is a professional operation doing the correct procedures on the track. After we have demonstrated that we’re really credible, then we want to show improvement after that.”
Racing Talent and Team Building Effort
In August they contracted Sergio Perez and Bottas as their drivers for 2026, a tandem remarkable for their priceless expertise in performing at the sharp end in two of the sport’s biggest teams, Red Bull Racing and the Mercedes team, and Bottas reflected the sentiment of combative optimism.
“Of course, we have a realistic outlook,” he commented. “There’s going to be a huge amount of work to do, and it will likely be most likely a difficult start, because it's the top level of motorsport. But we’re not there to stay at the back. I am confident with this setup, with these individuals, these personnel, there’s no reason why we won't be able to advance swiftly to a competitive level and enjoy some success.”
To that end recruitment has been in overdrive, with staff now reaching more than 400 and scheduled to attain the objective of 600 members rapidly. Alongside their current base at the Silverstone circuit, the organization are in the midst of finishing an main base at the Fishers location in the Indianapolis area and there is the General Motors facility in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are constructing the plant to produce the 2029 engine, scheduled for 2029 – in the meantime they will operate with Ferrari engines – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany. It is a complex structure, contrary to the direction in F1 for greater centralisation, and has prompted the new cultural approach to which Chester alluded.
Space Mission Inspiration
“It’s highly modelled on the Apollo program,” said the team principal just before the British Grand Prix in July. “We have a clear-eyed view, we know how challenging it is. The timelines, they’re super, super, super short. OK, it's not a space expedition, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have embraced, as opposed to the conventional chain of command, a flat management structure akin to that of NASA's, where there were a assortment of Apollo teams all working on various components of the mission at a different facilities.
“If you have to go through a protocol where an issue arises and they raise it up to their manager, that manager consults a leader at a different location, it travels back down, the process is very slow,” notes Nick Chester. “So we empower people to really get on with it. Avoiding hierarchical consent for all decisions is far more efficient and quicker.”
The Future
The effectiveness of this nimble approach will be tested in the pressure of racing when the season begins and there is a considerable amount at stake for F1, too. Cadillac have recruited as their test driver the emerging Californian Colton Herta
