Approximately a full year ago at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were at last given the go-ahead as F1's most recent entry for 2026. Building the organization from scratch has entailed a hectic work rate that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo program. As the sport descends on the Vegas strip this race weekend, the team are aware the deadline is approaching.
The Countdown to Australia
At the season finale of the championship to be held in the America, with around three months to go before they hit the circuit for the maiden outing in Melbourne at the 2026 opener, the Cadillac F1 project have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a monumental challenge, they are cognizant there will never be sufficient time.
The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, became part of the newly formed operation in the spring of 2023 shortly after it was created, when the team were without even an official entry. He has been at its heart ever since and enjoys a knowing grin when reflecting on the journey.
“You can have a short period looking back at what you’ve done and go: ‘Incredible, isn’t this fantastic what we’ve done in less than three years,’” Chester states. “Then the next minute you think: ‘Well, we still have a great deal to do.’”
A Unique Task
The CTO enjoyed success at Renault in Alonso's victorious seasons of the mid-2000s and was in command of technical development at the recently formed Mercedes Formula E team, but no previous experience has been quite like the task of introducing the all-American Cadillac name, a manufacturer-backed entry supported by the corporate entity, General Motors, into Formula One.
“Establishing an F1 team from nothing, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” Chester remarks. “There's nothing comparable. In an well-set team you rarely get the possibility to alter team culture.”
With each passing day that passes focus are sharper on the looming decisive point in the Australian GP and goals are being set realistically.
“One must presume that any incoming team entering the sport is probably going to finish last but merely participating will be an accomplishment in itself,” Lowdon commented earlier this year and while Nick Chester agreed with this sentiment he felt the team had a point to prove as well.
“The initial objective we intend to prove is that we deserve to be there,” Chester explains. “So we show up and we perform competently. We seek to prove that this is a professional operation doing the right things on the circuit. After we’ve shown that our credentials are solid, then we aim to demonstrate forward movement from there on.”
Racing Talent and Recruitment Push
In August they recruited Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas as their drivers for the 2026 season, a tandem distinguished for their priceless expertise in operating at the front in two top-tier teams, the Red Bull team and Mercedes, and Bottas echoed the sentiment of fighting spirit.
“Certainly, we are pragmatic,” he said. “We face a huge amount of work to do, and we expect almost certainly a challenging beginning, because it's the top level of motorsport. But we aren't joining to stay at the back. I am confident given this organization, with these individuals, these personnel, there’s no reason why we can't manage to get relatively quickly to a competitive level and enjoy some success.”
To realize that ambition recruitment has been in top gear, with staff now reaching over 400 and intended to reach the target of 600 rapidly. Complementing their existing facility at the Silverstone circuit, the team are in the process of building an HQ at Fishers, Indiana in Indianapolis and there is the GM works in North Carolina, where they are constructing the plant to manufacture the power unit, set for the 2029 season – in the meantime they will operate with Ferrari power units – and the aerodynamic facility in Cologne. It is a sophisticated structure, different from the direction in F1 for increased consolidation, and has prompted the innovative team culture to which Chester referred to.
Apollo Blueprint
“It's closely based on the Apollo project,” remarked the team principal ahead of the British Grand Prix in the summer. “We are pragmatic, we understand how difficult it is. The deadlines, are extremely compressed. OK, it's not a space expedition, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have implemented, as opposed to the conventional chain of command, a decentralized management akin to that of the space agency's, where there were a variety of specialist groups all focusing on different aspects of the mission across a variety of locations.
“In a system where you follow a procedure where an issue arises and they report it to their supervisor, that leader communicates with a supervisor somewhere else, it goes back down the chain, the process is very slow,” notes the CTO. “So we empower people to handle things directly. Eliminating hierarchical consent for each action 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 F1, too. Cadillac have recruited as their test driver the young Californian Colton Herta
