Just over twelve months previously at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately granted the official approval as F1's most recent entry for the 2026 season. Building the team from nothing has involved a intense work rate that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo moon landing. As F1 descends on Las Vegas this race weekend, the team understand the clock is ticking.
The Countdown to Australia
At the season finale of the season to be hosted in the US, with around 100 days to go before they take to the track for the maiden outing in Melbourne at the 2026 season opener, Cadillac have made significant progress but, in what must seem like a sisyphean task, they are aware there will never be sufficient time.
The technical director, Nick Chester, joined the nascent project in March 2023 shortly after it was established, when the team were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its core from that point and has a amused expression when considering the journey.
“You can have a short period looking back at what you have accomplished and say: ‘Wow, how impressive what we have built in a short three-year period,’” Chester states. “Then the next minute you consider: ‘Yeah, we still have a significant amount to do.’”
A One-of-a-Kind Challenge
Nick Chester had success at the Renault team in the driver Fernando Alonso's championship-winning campaigns of 2005 and 2006 and was in control of technical direction at the then-new Mercedes electric racing team, but nothing has quite compared with the mission of launching the iconic American Cadillac brand, a manufacturer-backed entry sponsored by the corporate entity, General Motors, into F1.
“Building an grand prix team from the ground up, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he says. “There's nothing comparable. In an well-set team you don’t get the chance to alter cultural approach.”
With each passing day that passes minds are sharper on the approaching critical moment in the Australian GP and targets are being handled.
“One must presume that a brand-new squad joining the grid is likely to start at the back but just making it to the starting line will be an feat in itself,” Graeme Lowdon commented earlier this year and while Nick Chester agreed with this sentiment he believed the squad had a statement to make as well.
“The first thing we want to show is that we should be there,” Chester explains. “So that we show up and we operate well. We seek to prove that we are a serious contender performing the proper actions on the circuit. After we’ve shown that we’re really credible, then we aim to demonstrate progression after that.”
Racing Talent and Recruitment Push
In the summer they contracted Checo Pérez and Valtteri Bottas as their drivers for 2026, a duo distinguished for their invaluable experience in operating at the front in two top-tier teams, Red Bull and Mercedes, and the Finnish driver reflected the sentiment of fighting spirit.
“Naturally, we’re realistic,” he said. “There’s going to be a huge amount of work to do, and it will likely be probably a challenging beginning, because this is Formula One. But we’re not there to stay at the back. I believe with this setup, with this team, these people, there is every reason that we won't be able to progress rapidly to a competitive level and enjoy some success.”
To that end hiring has been in full swing, with personnel now reaching more than 400 and scheduled to reach the objective of 600 rapidly. Alongside their current base at the UK base, the team are in the process of finishing an main base at the Fishers location in the Indianapolis area and there is the GM works in Charlotte, where they are building the center to produce the 2029 engine, set for 2029 – in the meantime they will operate with Ferrari engines – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany. It is a complex organization, at odds with the trend in Formula One for more centralization, and has inspired the fresh organizational mindset to which Chester referred to.
Space Mission Blueprint
“It’s highly modelled on the Apollo project,” said Lowdon just before the Silverstone race in the summer. “We’re realistic, we understand how difficult it is. The schedules, are extremely compressed. Alright, it's not a space expedition, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have adopted, as opposed to the conventional chain of command, a flat management structure comparable to that of the space agency's, where there were a variety of specialist groups all focusing on various components of the program at a variety of locations.
“If you have to go through a process where a challenge emerges and they report it to their manager, that supervisor communicates with a supervisor at a different location, it is relayed back, it becomes inefficient,” explains Nick Chester. “Therefore we enable people to take charge. Eliminating managerial sign-off for all decisions is much smoother and quicker.”
What Lies Ahead
The success of this nimble strategy will be tested in the heat of competition in 2026 and there is a considerable amount on the line for Formula One, too. Cadillac have taken on as their development driver the emerging Californian Colton Herta
