A little more than twelve months ago at the Nevada Grand Prix, Cadillac were finally granted the go-ahead as Formula One’s most recent entry for the 2026 season. Constructing the team from nothing has required a hectic pace of work that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the Apollo program. As Formula One descends on Las Vegas this race weekend, Cadillac are aware the deadline is approaching.
The Tight Timeline to Melbourne
At the season finale of the championship to be staged in the US, with just over three months to go before they make their debut for the inaugural time in Australia at the 2026 season opener, Cadillac have made significant progress but, in what must seem like a monumental endeavor, they are cognizant there will not be sufficient time.
The technical director, Nick Chester, became part of the embryonic project in March 2023 soon after it was formed, when the squad were without even an approved entry. He has been at its core from that point and has a wry smile when reflecting on the journey.
“You might get a short period looking back at what the team has achieved and say: ‘Incredible, how impressive what we have built in less than three years,’” he says. “But then the next minute you consider: ‘Well, we still have a significant amount to do.’”
A Unique Task
Chester enjoyed success at Renault in Fernando Alonso’s championship-winning campaigns of 2005/2006 and was in command of engineering strategy at the new Mercedes electric racing team, but nothing has truly matched the challenge of bringing the iconic American Cadillac marque, a works entry sponsored by the owner, General Motors Corporation, into Formula One.
“Establishing an grand prix team from nothing, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he observes. “It is like nothing else. In an established team you don’t get the opportunity to transform cultural approach.”
With each passing day that elapses focus are more focused on the looming moment of truth in the Australian GP and targets are being handled.
“One must presume that any incoming team entering the sport is going to be last but simply getting on to the grid will be an achievement in itself,” the team principal commented earlier this year and while Chester agreed with this sentiment he believed the squad had a reputation to build as well.
“The initial objective we intend to prove is that we deserve to be there,” Chester explains. “In order that we arrive and we operate well. We want to show that we are a serious contender performing the proper actions on the track. Once we have demonstrated that our credentials are solid, then we want to show progression from there on.”
Driver Lineup and Team Building Drive
In late summer they signed Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas as their drivers for the 2026 season, a duo notable for their invaluable experience in operating at the front in two of the sport’s biggest teams, Red Bull and Mercedes-AMG, and Valtteri Bottas echoed the sentiment of fighting spirit.
“Naturally, we are pragmatic,” Bottas stated. “There’s going to be a mountain of work to do, and it will likely be almost certainly a difficult start, because it is F1. But we aren't joining to remain at the rear. I believe given this organization, with these individuals, this staff, there is every reason that we can't manage to advance swiftly up to the pace and enjoy some success.”
To that end hiring has been in full swing, with employees now reaching in excess of 400 and planned to hit the goal of 600 members swiftly. In addition to their existing facility at the UK base, the squad are in the phase of finishing an headquarters at Fishers, Indiana in Indianapolis and there is the General Motors facility in Charlotte, where they are developing the center to produce the 2029 engine, scheduled for the 2029 season – until then they will use power from Ferrari – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Germany. It is a intricate organization, at odds with the movement in Formula One for more centralization, and has prompted the innovative team culture to which the CTO referred.
Space Mission Inspiration
“It’s highly modelled on the Apollo program,” stated Graeme Lowdon just before the Silverstone race in July. “We have a clear-eyed view, we understand how tough it is. The deadlines, are extremely compressed. Well, we aren't launching a lunar mission, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have implemented, as opposed to the usual hierarchical system, a flat management structure similar to that of Nasa’s, where there were a variety of Apollo teams all focusing on different aspects of the program across 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 at a different location, it is relayed back, it’s super slow,” explains Nick Chester. “Therefore we enable team members to take charge. Moving away from managerial sign-off for everything is so much cleaner and more rapid.”
Upcoming Challenges
The success of this flexible methodology will be tested in the intensity of Grand Prix when the season begins and there is no little amount on the line for the sport, too. The Cadillac team have signed as their reserve driver the young Californian Colton Herta
