A little more than one year in the past at the Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were at last given the official approval as F1's most recent entry for the 2026 season. Establishing the organization from nothing has required a hectic operating tempo that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo moon landing. As the sport descends on Las Vegas this weekend, the team know the clock is ticking.
The Race Against Time to Melbourne
At the final race of the championship to be hosted in the America, with approximately a hundred days to go before they hit the circuit for the maiden outing in Melbourne at the 2026 season opener, Cadillac have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a monumental challenge, they are aware there will not be enough hours in the day.
The CTO, Nick Chester, became part of the newly formed operation in March 2023 shortly after it was formed, when the team were without even an official entry. He has been at its core ever since and enjoys a wry smile when considering the experience.
“You might get a short period thinking back at what you’ve done and say: ‘Amazing, isn’t this fantastic what we have built in less than three years,’” Chester states. “And then the following moment you consider: ‘Yes, we still have quite a lot to do.’”
A One-of-a-Kind Challenge
Nick Chester had success at Renault in Alonso's title-winning campaigns of 2005/2006 and was in command of technical development at the then-new Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but nothing has been quite like the mission of introducing the all-American Cadillac name, a manufacturer-backed entry sponsored by the corporate entity, General Motors Corporation, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Building an grand prix team from the ground up, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” he observes. “It's unparalleled. In an well-set team you don’t get the opportunity to change cultural approach.”
With each passing day that elapses minds are more focused on the approaching critical moment in Australia and goals are being managed.
“It's reasonable to expect that any new team entering the sport is likely to start at the back but simply getting on to the grid will be an feat in itself,” Graeme Lowdon stated earlier this year and while the CTO echoed this he thought the team had a point to prove as well.
“Our primary goal we intend to prove is that we belong on the grid,” he emphasizes. “In order that we show up and we function efficiently. We want to show that this is a professional operation doing the proper actions on the track. When we prove that our credentials are solid, then we aim to demonstrate improvement from there on.”
Pilot Selection and Hiring Drive
In the summer they recruited Sergio Pérez and Valtteri as their drivers for the 2026 season, a duo remarkable for their vast knowledge in operating at the front in two of the sport’s biggest teams, Red Bull and the Mercedes team, and Bottas expressed the mood of fighting spirit.
“Certainly, we have a realistic outlook,” he commented. “We have a huge amount of work to do, and we expect most likely a challenging beginning, because this is Formula One. But we’re not there to finish last. I believe with this setup, with these individuals, this staff, there is every reason that we can't manage to advance swiftly up to the pace and achieve good results.”
To achieve that goal hiring has been in full swing, with employees now reaching over 400 and scheduled to reach the target of 600 swiftly. Alongside their present headquarters at Silverstone, the organization are in the phase of building an main base at the Fishers location in Indianapolis and there is the General Motors facility in Charlotte, where they are building the center to produce the power unit, scheduled for 2029 – in the meantime they will run power from Ferrari – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Germany. It is a sophisticated organization, contrary to the movement in F1 for increased consolidation, and has prompted the new cultural approach to which the CTO referred to.
Space Mission Model
“It's closely based on the Apollo program,” stated Graeme Lowdon just before the Silverstone race in the summer. “We have a clear-eyed view, we understand how difficult it is. The timelines, are incredibly tight. Alright, we aren't launching a lunar mission, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have adopted, instead of the usual hierarchical system, a non-hierarchical approach comparable to that of NASA's, where there were a range of specialist groups all tackling different aspects of the program at a variety of locations.
“If you have to go through a protocol where a challenge emerges and they report it to their supervisor, that leader talks to a manager in another department, it is relayed back, the process is very slow,” says Chester. “So we empower team members to handle things directly. Moving away from hierarchical consent for each action is much smoother and quicker.”
What Lies Ahead
The success of this agile methodology will be tested in the intensity of Grand Prix next season and there is a significant degree on the line for F1, too. Cadillac have recruited as their development driver the 25-year-old American Colton Herta
