Just over one year ago at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were finally granted the go-ahead as F1's latest participant for 2026. Constructing the organization from nothing has involved a hectic pace of work that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo moon landing. As Formula One arrives on Vegas this weekend, Cadillac know the deadline is approaching.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the last event of the championship to be staged in the America, with approximately a hundred days to go before they hit the circuit for the first time in Melbourne at the 2026 season opener, the Cadillac F1 project have made significant progress but, in what must seem like a sisyphean challenge, they are conscious there will not be enough hours in the day.
The technical director, Nick Chester, joined the newly formed operation in the spring of 2023 soon after it was established, when the team were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its core ever since and gets a amused expression when reflecting on the ride.
“There might be a brief moment thinking back at what you’ve done and say: ‘Incredible, isn’t this fantastic what we’ve done in less than three years,’” he says. “Then the very next instant you consider: ‘Well, there is still a great deal to do.’”
A One-of-a-Kind Opportunity
Nick Chester enjoyed success at the Renault team in Alonso's championship-winning seasons of 2005 and 2006 and was in command of technical direction at the recently formed Mercedes Formula E team, but nothing has been quite like the challenge of launching the quintessentially American Cadillac name, a factory team supported by the corporate entity, GM, into F1.
“Establishing an F1 team from nothing, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” he says. “There's nothing comparable. In an existing team you won't have the possibility to change team culture.”
With each day that elapses thoughts are increasingly concentrated on the looming decisive point in the Australian GP and expectations are being set realistically.
“One must presume that a brand-new squad coming in is going to be last but merely participating will be an achievement in itself,” the team principal noted this year and while Chester agreed with this sentiment he thought the organization had a statement to make as well.
“The first thing we intend to prove is that we should be there,” he emphasizes. “In order that we show up and we function efficiently. We seek to prove that this is a professional operation performing the right things on the circuit. When we’ve shown that we’re really credible, then we aim to demonstrate improvement from there on.”
Pilot Selection and Recruitment Effort
In August they signed Sergio Pérez and Valtteri as their racers for the 2026 season, a tandem distinguished for their priceless expertise in competing at the sharp end in two top-tier teams, the Red Bull team and the Mercedes team, and Valtteri Bottas reflected the attitude of fighting spirit.
“Certainly, we have a realistic outlook,” he commented. “There’s going to be a mountain of work to do, and it’s going to be probably a tough opening, because it is F1. But our goal isn't to finish last. I am confident with this structure, with these individuals, these personnel, there’s no reason why we can't manage to advance swiftly up to the pace and achieve good results.”
To that end hiring has been in overdrive, with staff now at over 400 and planned to reach the target of 600 swiftly. In addition to their current base at the UK base, the team are in the process of finishing an HQ at Fishers, Indiana in Indy and there is the General Motors facility in North Carolina, where they are developing the center to manufacture the new engine, scheduled for 2029 – for now they will use Ferrari power units – and the aerodynamic facility in Cologne. It is a sophisticated structure, contrary to the movement in Formula One for more centralization, and has led to the new cultural approach to which Chester referred.
NASA Inspiration
“It’s highly modelled on the Apollo program,” remarked Lowdon shortly before the British Grand Prix in the summer. “We are pragmatic, we understand how difficult it is. The deadlines, are incredibly tight. Alright, it's not a space expedition, but it can seem that way.”
So they have embraced, instead of the traditional management structure, a decentralized management akin to that of the space agency's, where there were a assortment of project teams all focusing on various components of the project across a variety of locations.
“In a system where you follow a protocol where someone has a problem and they escalate it to their supervisor, that supervisor consults a leader somewhere else, it goes back down the chain, it becomes inefficient,” explains Chester. “So we empower people to handle things directly. Avoiding managerial sign-off for everything is much smoother and faster.”
Upcoming Challenges
The success of this nimble methodology will be evaluated 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 test driver the young Californian Colton Herta
