A little more than twelve months previously at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were at last awarded the go-ahead as the world of Formula One's most recent entrant for 2026. Establishing the team from the ground up has entailed a frenetic pace of work that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo moon landing. As Formula One arrives on the Vegas strip this race weekend, Cadillac understand time is getting tight.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the season finale of the championship to be hosted in the United States, with approximately 100 days to go before they hit the circuit for the maiden outing in Melbourne at the 2026 season opener, the Cadillac F1 project have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a monumental challenge, they are conscious there will never be sufficient time.
The CTO, Nick Chester, became part of the nascent operation in the spring of 2023 soon after it was created, when the team were without even an official entry. He has been at its heart from that point and enjoys a knowing grin when reflecting on the ride.
“You can have a brief moment looking back at what you’ve done and go: ‘Amazing, what an achievement what the team has created in under three years,’” Chester states. “Then the very next instant you realize: ‘Yeah, we’ve still got a great deal to do.’”
A Unique Challenge
The CTO achieved victories at the Renault team in the driver Fernando Alonso's title-winning years of 2005/2006 and was in command of engineering strategy at the recently formed Mercedes Formula E team, but no other project has been quite like the challenge of introducing the all-American Cadillac name, a manufacturer-backed entry sponsored by the owner, GM, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Establishing an Formula One team from the ground up, when will you ever have the possibility to do that?” he says. “There's nothing comparable. In an well-set team you rarely get the opportunity to transform organizational mindset.”
With each day that elapses minds are more focused on the impending moment of truth in Australia and expectations are being set realistically.
“One must presume that any incoming team coming in is likely to start at the back but just making it to the starting line will be an accomplishment in itself,” Lowdon commented earlier this year and while the CTO agreed with this sentiment he thought the organization had a reputation to build as well.
“The first thing we intend to prove is that we deserve to be there,” he says. “In order that we arrive and we operate well. We seek to prove that this is a professional operation executing the correct procedures on the circuit. When we’ve shown that we’re really credible, then we aim to demonstrate improvement subsequently.”
Racing Talent and Hiring Push
In the summer they contracted Checo Pérez and Bottas as their pilots for the 2026 season, a tandem distinguished for their vast knowledge in operating at the leading positions in two of the sport’s biggest teams, Red Bull Racing and the Mercedes team, and Bottas echoed the sentiment of combative optimism.
“Naturally, we’re realistic,” he said. “There’s going to be a massive task to do, and it will likely be almost certainly a challenging beginning, because this is Formula One. But we’re not there to remain at the rear. I am confident with this structure, with this group, this staff, there’s no reason why we won't be able to advance swiftly to the front and taste victory.”
To that end recruitment has been in full swing, with employees now up to over 400 and planned to reach the objective of 600 quickly. Alongside their existing facility at the Silverstone circuit, the organization are in the process of building an HQ at Fishers, Indiana in Indianapolis and there is the General Motors facility in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are building the plant to produce the 2029 engine, set for 2029 – until then they will operate with Ferrari power units – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Germany. It is a sophisticated organization, different from the trend in F1 for more centralization, and has led to the fresh organizational mindset to which the CTO referred to.
Apollo Inspiration
“We've drawn heavily from the NASA moon mission,” stated Graeme Lowdon shortly before the Silverstone race in mid-season. “We’re realistic, we recognize how challenging it is. The schedules, they’re super, super, super short. OK, it's not a space expedition, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have embraced, as opposed to the traditional management structure, a non-hierarchical approach akin to that of Nasa’s, where there were a assortment of specialist groups all tackling distinct elements of the project at a variety of locations.
“If you have to go through a process where someone has a problem and they raise it up to their supervisor, that supervisor communicates with a leader somewhere else, it goes back down the chain, it becomes inefficient,” notes Nick Chester. “Therefore we enable people to handle things directly. Moving away from managerial sign-off for all decisions is much smoother and quicker.”
What Lies Ahead
The effectiveness of this agile strategy will be proven in the intensity of Grand Prix in 2026 and there is no little amount on the line for the sport, too. Cadillac have recruited as their development driver the 25-year-old Californian Colton Herta
