A little more than a full year ago at the Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were at last given the green light as Formula One’s latest entrant for the 2026 season. Constructing the organization from nothing has involved a hectic pace of work that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo moon landing. As the sport arrives on Vegas this race weekend, the team are aware the clock is ticking.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the last event of the season to be staged in the America, with just over 100 days to go before they take to the track for the inaugural time in Melbourne at the first race of 2026, Cadillac have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a never-ending endeavor, they are aware there will not be sufficient time.
The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, became part of the newly formed project in the spring of 2023 not long 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 wry smile when reflecting on the ride.
“You can have a short period looking back at what you have accomplished and say: ‘Wow, isn’t this fantastic what the team has created in less than three years,’” he notes. “Then the next minute you realize: ‘Yeah, we’ve still got a significant amount to do.’”
An Unprecedented Challenge
Nick Chester had success at the Renault team in Fernando Alonso’s title-winning years of the mid-2000s and was in control of technical development at the new Mercedes Formula E team, but no previous experience has truly matched the mission of launching the all-American Cadillac name, a manufacturer-backed entry backed by the parent company, General Motors, into Formula One.
“Establishing an F1 team from the ground up, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” Chester remarks. “It's unparalleled. In an well-set team you don’t get the chance to change cultural approach.”
With each passing day that goes by minds are increasingly concentrated on the looming critical moment in Melbourne and goals are being handled.
“It's reasonable to expect that any incoming team coming in is probably going to finish last but just making it to the starting line will be an accomplishment in itself,” the team principal commented recently and while Chester agreed with this sentiment he felt the team had a point to prove as well.
“Our primary goal we aim to demonstrate is that we belong on the grid,” Chester explains. “So that we show up and we operate well. We want to show that we are a serious contender doing the right things on the circuit. When we’ve shown that our credentials are solid, then we aim to demonstrate forward movement after that.”
Pilot Selection and Recruitment Drive
In late summer they signed Sergio Pérez and Valtteri as their drivers for 2026, a tandem notable for their invaluable experience in competing at the sharp end in two top-tier teams, the Red Bull team and the Mercedes team, and Bottas echoed the attitude of determined optimism.
“Naturally, we have a realistic outlook,” Bottas stated. “There’s going to be a massive task to do, and we expect almost certainly a tough opening, because it's the top level of motorsport. But our goal isn't to finish last. I believe with this structure, 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 that end hiring has been in full swing, with staff now reaching more than 400 and intended to hit the target of 600 members rapidly. In addition to their present headquarters at Silverstone, the organization are in the phase of completing an main base at the Fishers location in Indy and there is the General Motors facility in North Carolina, where they are constructing the plant to produce the 2029 engine, planned for the 2029 season – until then they will run Ferrari engines – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne. It is a complex structure, different from the movement in Formula One for increased consolidation, and has inspired the innovative team culture to which the CTO referred.
Space Mission Inspiration
“It's closely based on the Apollo program,” stated Lowdon ahead of the British GP in mid-season. “We’re realistic, we recognize how challenging it is. The schedules, are incredibly tight. Alright, it's not a space expedition, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have embraced, instead of the traditional management structure, a flat management structure akin to that of Nasa’s, where there were a range of project teams all tackling various components of the project in a multiple sites.
“When you must follow a process where a challenge emerges and they escalate it to their manager, that manager communicates with a manager somewhere else, it travels back down, the process is very slow,” explains the CTO. “So we empower team members to handle things directly. Eliminating management approval for everything is so much cleaner and faster.”
The Future
The success of this agile methodology will be proven in the intensity of Grand Prix next season and there is no little amount on the line for Formula One, too. The Cadillac team have recruited as their development driver the young Californian Colton Herta
