Approximately twelve months ago at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately awarded the go-ahead as Formula One’s latest entry for the 2026 season. Establishing the squad from scratch has entailed a frenetic operating tempo that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the NASA lunar mission. As the sport descends on the Vegas strip this race weekend, Cadillac understand the clock is ticking.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the final race of the campaign to be staged in the US, with just over three months to go before they take to the track for the first time in Australia at the 2026 season opener, Cadillac have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a never-ending endeavor, they are cognizant there will never be adequate time.
The technical director, Nick Chester, became part of the newly formed project in the spring of 2023 soon after it was created, when the team were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its center ever since and enjoys a amused expression when thinking about the journey.
“There might be a short period thinking back at what you have accomplished and say: ‘Incredible, isn’t this fantastic what we’ve done in a short three-year period,’” Chester states. “And then the very next instant you consider: ‘Well, we’ve still got quite a lot to do.’”
A Unique Task
Chester had success at the Renault team in Fernando Alonso’s victorious seasons of the mid-2000s and was in command of engineering strategy at the new Mercedes Formula E team, but nothing has been quite like the challenge of launching the quintessentially American Cadillac name, a manufacturer-backed entry supported by the owner, GM, into Formula One.
“Creating an F1 team from scratch, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” Chester remarks. “It's unparalleled. In an established team you rarely get the possibility to transform organizational mindset.”
With each day that elapses thoughts are more focused on the approaching decisive point in the Australian GP and expectations are being set realistically.
“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 accomplishment in itself,” the team principal commented earlier this year and while Chester agreed with this sentiment 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,” Chester explains. “So that we arrive and we operate well. We aim to demonstrate that we are a serious contender doing the right things on the circuit. After we’ve shown that we’re really credible, then we want to show progression after that.”
Racing Talent and Recruitment Push
In late summer they contracted Checo Pérez and Bottas as their drivers for 2026, a pair distinguished for their invaluable experience in performing at the sharp end in two top-tier teams, the Red Bull team and Mercedes, and Bottas expressed the sentiment of fighting spirit.
“Of course, we have a realistic outlook,” he said. “We have a mountain of work to do, and it’s going to be most likely a challenging beginning, because it's the top level of motorsport. But we aren't joining to stay at the back. I believe with this setup, with these individuals, these people, it's entirely possible we can't manage to progress rapidly to the front and achieve good results.”
To achieve that goal hiring has been in top gear, with employees now up to more than 400 and intended to hit the goal of 600 quickly. Alongside their existing facility at the UK base, the organization are in the midst of building an main base at the Fishers location in Indianapolis and there is the General Motors facility in North Carolina, where they are constructing the center to manufacture the 2029 engine, planned for 2029 – for now they will use Ferrari engines – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Cologne. It is a complex structure, contrary to the trend in F1 for greater centralisation, and has inspired the fresh organizational mindset to which Nick Chester referred to.
Space Mission Blueprint
“It’s highly modelled on the Apollo project,” remarked Graeme Lowdon ahead of the British GP in July. “We have a clear-eyed view, we know how difficult it is. The schedules, they’re super, super, super short. OK, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but it feels like it sometimes.”
So they have embraced, instead of the usual hierarchical system, a decentralized management similar to that of the space agency's, where there were a range of project teams all tackling distinct elements of the project across a variety of locations.
“If you have to go through a process where an issue arises and they raise it up to their supervisor, that manager communicates with a supervisor in another department, it travels back down, it’s super slow,” notes Nick Chester. “So we empower people to really get on with it. Avoiding managerial sign-off for each action is much smoother and quicker.”
What Lies Ahead
The efficacy of this flexible approach will be proven in the pressure of racing next season and there is a considerable amount riding on this for Formula One, too. The Cadillac team have recruited as their reserve driver the emerging Californian Colton Herta
