Just over one year previously at the Vegas Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were at last awarded the go-ahead as Formula One’s newest participant for the 2026 season. Building the organization from nothing has involved a frenetic operating tempo that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo moon landing. As the sport descends on Vegas this race weekend, the team know time is getting tight.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the season finale of the campaign to be hosted in the US, with around a hundred days to go before they hit the circuit for the first time in Melbourne at the 2026 opener, the Cadillac F1 project have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a sisyphean challenge, they are cognizant there will never be sufficient time.
The CTO, Nick Chester, came aboard the embryonic team in March 2023 not long after it was formed, when the squad were without even an approved entry. He has been at its heart from that point and has a wry smile when thinking about the journey.
“There might be a brief moment thinking back at what you have accomplished and say: ‘Amazing, what an achievement what we have built in under three years,’” he says. “Then the next minute you consider: ‘Well, we still have a significant amount to do.’”
An Unprecedented Task
Nick Chester achieved victories at Renault in Alonso's victorious years of 2005/2006 and was in control of engineering strategy at the recently formed Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but no previous experience has truly matched the challenge of introducing the iconic American Cadillac marque, a manufacturer-backed entry sponsored by the parent company, General Motors Corporation, into Formula One.
“Creating an grand prix team from scratch, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” he observes. “There's nothing comparable. In an existing team you won't have the opportunity to alter organizational mindset.”
With each day that goes by thoughts are sharper on the approaching critical moment in Melbourne and goals are being handled.
“It's reasonable to expect that a brand-new squad joining the grid is probably going to finish last but simply getting on to the grid will be an accomplishment in itself,” Graeme Lowdon commented this year and while Nick Chester shared this view he felt the organization had a statement to make as well.
“The first thing we intend to prove is that we should be there,” he says. “So that we arrive and we function efficiently. We seek to prove that we are a serious contender doing the correct procedures on the circuit. When we have demonstrated that we’re really credible, then we aim to demonstrate improvement after that.”
Pilot Selection and Recruitment Drive
In late summer they contracted Sergio Pérez and Bottas as their pilots for the 2026 season, a tandem distinguished for their vast knowledge in performing at the front in two top-tier teams, Red Bull and Mercedes, and the Finnish driver expressed the attitude of fighting spirit.
“Of course, we are pragmatic,” he commented. “We have a huge amount of work to do, and we expect probably a difficult start, because it's the top level of motorsport. But we aren't joining to remain at the rear. I am confident with this setup, with these individuals, these people, there’s no reason why we won't be able to progress rapidly up to the pace and taste victory.”
To that end recruitment has been in overdrive, with personnel now reaching over 400 and scheduled to hit the goal of 600 members quickly. In addition to their existing facility at the Silverstone circuit, the team are in the midst of building an main base at Fishers, Indiana in Indy and there is the General Motors facility in North Carolina, where they are developing the facility to manufacture the power unit, scheduled for 2029 – for now they will use Ferrari engines – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany. It is a sophisticated structure, different from the direction in the sport for increased consolidation, and has led to the fresh organizational mindset to which the CTO referred.
Apollo Blueprint
“It's closely based on the NASA moon mission,” remarked the team principal ahead of the British Grand Prix in July. “We are pragmatic, we know how challenging it is. The deadlines, are incredibly tight. Well, we aren't launching a lunar mission, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have adopted, rather than the conventional chain of command, a non-hierarchical approach comparable to that of NASA's, where there were a range of project teams all focusing on different aspects of the program in a different facilities.
“If you have to go through a protocol where a challenge emerges and they escalate it to their supervisor, that leader consults a manager at a different location, it is relayed back, it’s super slow,” says the CTO. “We give authority to team members to handle things directly. Avoiding managerial sign-off for everything is much smoother and more rapid.”
Upcoming Challenges
The success of this nimble strategy will be evaluated in the intensity of Grand Prix next season and there is a considerable amount riding on this for F1, too. The Cadillac team have taken on as their reserve driver the emerging American Colton Herta
