Just over one year in the past at the Nevada Grand Prix, Cadillac were at last awarded the official approval as the world of Formula One's most recent participant for the 2026 season. Building the organization from the ground up has entailed a hectic pace of work that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the NASA lunar mission. As the sport arrives on the Vegas strip this weekend, Cadillac are aware the clock is ticking.
The Race Against Time to Australia
At the last event of the championship to be hosted in the America, with approximately three months to go before they hit the circuit for the inaugural time in Australia at the 2026 season opener, the Cadillac F1 project have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a monumental endeavor, they are conscious there will not be enough hours in the day.
The CTO, Nick Chester, became part of the newly formed team in early 2023 not long after it was established, when the organization were without even an approved entry. He has been at its heart from that point and gets a wry smile when reflecting on the journey.
“You can have a brief moment reflecting at what the team has achieved and think: ‘Wow, what an achievement what we’ve done in under three years,’” he says. “And then the following moment you think: ‘Well, we still have a great deal to do.’”
A One-of-a-Kind Challenge
Chester achieved victories at Renault in Fernando Alonso’s championship-winning campaigns of the mid-2000s and was in command of technical direction at the then-new Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but no other project has been quite like the task of bringing the iconic American Cadillac brand, a manufacturer-backed entry sponsored by the owner, General Motors, into F1.
“Building an grand prix team from scratch, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he observes. “There's nothing comparable. In an established team you rarely get the possibility to change team culture.”
With each passing day that passes focus are sharper on the approaching critical moment in Australia and targets are being managed.
“One must presume that any new team coming in is going to be last but just making it to the starting line will be an achievement in itself,” Lowdon stated this year and while Nick Chester shared this view he thought the organization had a statement to make as well.
“Our primary goal we want to show is that we should be there,” he emphasizes. “So that we show up and we function efficiently. We want to show that we’re a proper team doing the proper actions on the track. When we prove that we are a legitimate team, then we will focus on forward movement from there on.”
Racing Talent and Recruitment Effort
In late summer they recruited Sergio Pérez and Bottas as their racers for the 2026 season, a tandem distinguished for their vast knowledge in performing at the sharp end in two championship-winning squads, the Red Bull team and the Mercedes team, and Bottas echoed the sentiment of fighting spirit.
“Of course, we are pragmatic,” he commented. “We have a massive task to do, and it’s going to be most likely a tough opening, because it's the top level of motorsport. But we aren't joining to remain at the rear. In my view given this organization, with these individuals, these people, there’s no reason why we won't be able to progress rapidly to the front and achieve good results.”
To realize that ambition staff acquisition has been in full swing, with personnel now at over 400 and intended to reach the goal of 600 members swiftly. Alongside their current base at Silverstone, the organization are in the midst of building an main base at Fishers, Indiana in Indy and there is the GM works in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are building the center to manufacture the 2029 engine, set for 2029 – in the meantime they will operate with Ferrari engines – and the aerodynamic facility in Cologne. It is a sophisticated organisation, different from the movement in Formula One for more centralization, and has led to the innovative team culture to which the CTO alluded.
Apollo Inspiration
“It’s highly modelled on the Apollo project,” remarked Graeme Lowdon shortly before the Silverstone race in mid-season. “We have a clear-eyed view, we know how challenging it is. The timelines, are incredibly tight. Well, it's not a space expedition, but it can seem that way.”
So they have implemented, rather than the usual hierarchical system, a flat management structure comparable to that of Nasa’s, where there were a assortment of specialist groups all focusing on various components of the program in a variety of locations.
“When you must follow a procedure where someone has a problem and they raise it up to their supervisor, that supervisor consults a supervisor in another department, it travels back down, it’s super slow,” notes Nick Chester. “So we empower staff to really get on with it. Moving away from managerial sign-off for each action is much smoother and more rapid.”
Upcoming Challenges
The efficacy of this agile strategy will be proven in the intensity of Grand Prix next season and there is no little amount at stake for F1, too. Cadillac have signed as their test driver the 25-year-old American Colton Herta
