Just over twelve months ago at the Nevada Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately granted the go-ahead as the world of Formula One's latest entry for 2026. Establishing the squad from the ground up has required a frenetic work rate that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo moon landing. As the sport descends on the Vegas strip this weekend, the team know time is getting tight.
The Race Against Time to Melbourne
At the last event of the season to be held in the America, with approximately three months to go before they make their debut for the inaugural time in Australia at the first race of 2026, Cadillac have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a never-ending challenge, they are conscious there will not be enough hours in the day.
The CTO, Nick Chester, joined the embryonic project in the spring of 2023 not long after it was formed, when the squad were without even an approved entry. He has been at its center from that point and enjoys a wry smile when considering the ride.
“There might be five minutes reflecting at what you’ve done and think: ‘Amazing, isn’t this fantastic what the team has created in less than three years,’” he says. “And then the following moment you consider: ‘Well, we still have quite a lot to do.’”
A Unique Challenge
Nick Chester had success at Renault in the driver Fernando Alonso's title-winning years of 2005/2006 and was in control of technical direction at the new Mercedes Formula E team, but no other project has been quite like the challenge of introducing the all-American Cadillac name, a factory team backed by the corporate entity, GM, into Formula One.
“Creating an grand prix team from the ground up, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he observes. “It's unparalleled. In an well-set team you don’t get the possibility to change cultural approach.”
With each passing day that passes minds are sharper on the approaching moment of truth in Melbourne and expectations are being handled.
“You have to assume that any incoming team entering the sport is probably going to finish last but merely participating will be an achievement in itself,” the team principal stated earlier this year and while the CTO shared this view he believed the organization had a statement to make as well.
“Our primary goal we aim to demonstrate is that we should be there,” Chester explains. “So that we arrive and we perform competently. We seek to prove that this is a professional operation doing the correct procedures on the race track. When we’ve shown that our credentials are solid, then we will focus on progression after that.”
Driver Lineup and Team Building Push
In August they recruited Sergio Pérez and Bottas as their drivers for the 2026 season, a pair remarkable for their priceless expertise in performing at the front in two of the sport’s biggest teams, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes-AMG, and the Finnish driver echoed the attitude of fighting spirit.
“Naturally, we are pragmatic,” Bottas stated. “We have a mountain of work to do, and it will likely be almost certainly a challenging beginning, because it's the top level of motorsport. But our goal isn't to finish last. I am confident with this setup, with this group, these people, there’s no reason why we can't manage to advance swiftly to a competitive level and enjoy some success.”
To that end recruitment has been in full swing, with staff now up to more than 400 and intended to reach the target of 600 members swiftly. Complementing their existing facility at Silverstone, the organization are in the midst of completing an HQ at the Fishers location in Indy and there is the GM works in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are building the facility to manufacture the new engine, set for 2029 – for now they will use Ferrari power units – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Cologne. It is a intricate structure, at odds with the trend in F1 for increased consolidation, and has prompted the fresh organizational mindset to which the CTO referred to.
Space Mission Model
“It's closely based on the NASA moon mission,” remarked the team principal ahead of the British Grand Prix in July. “We have a clear-eyed view, we know how challenging it is. The schedules, are incredibly tight. Well, we aren't launching a lunar mission, but it feels like it sometimes.”
So they have adopted, instead of the usual hierarchical system, a non-hierarchical approach similar to that of the space agency's, where there were a range of project teams all working on different aspects of the mission in a different facilities.
“In a system where you follow a protocol where an issue arises and they escalate it to their team leader, that supervisor communicates with a leader somewhere else, it travels back down, it becomes inefficient,” notes Chester. “So we empower people to handle things directly. Avoiding managerial sign-off for all decisions is much smoother and quicker.”
What Lies Ahead
The efficacy of this flexible strategy will be tested in the intensity of Grand Prix when the season begins and there is a considerable amount on the line for F1, too. Cadillac have taken on as their development driver the young American Colton Herta
