Approximately one year in the past at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately given the green light as Formula One’s newest entry for the 2026 season. Establishing the organization from the ground up has entailed a frenetic pace of work that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo program. As the sport arrives on Vegas this race weekend, Cadillac understand the clock is ticking.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the last event of the campaign to be staged in the United States, with around three months to go before they hit the circuit for the maiden outing in Australia at the 2026 opener, the Cadillac F1 project have made significant progress but, in what must seem like a never-ending endeavor, they are conscious there will not be adequate time.
The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, became part of the embryonic team in early 2023 soon after it was created, when the organization were without even an approved entry. He has been at its heart from that point and gets a amused expression when considering the experience.
“You might get a short period thinking back at what you’ve done and go: ‘Wow, what an achievement what we’ve done in a short three-year period,’” he says. “And then the next minute you realize: ‘Yes, there is still a great deal to do.’”
A Unique Task
Nick Chester enjoyed success at the Renault team in Alonso's title-winning campaigns of 2005/2006 and was in command of technical development at the recently formed Mercedes electric racing team, but nothing has quite compared with the mission of bringing the iconic American Cadillac brand, a works entry sponsored by the owner, General Motors, into F1.
“Creating an F1 team from the ground up, 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 chance to alter team culture.”
With every day that passes thoughts are sharper on the impending decisive point in Melbourne and goals are being handled.
“One must presume that a brand-new squad coming in is likely to start at the back but simply getting on to the grid will be an feat in itself,” Lowdon stated recently and while Nick Chester agreed with this sentiment he felt the squad had a statement to make as well.
“The first thing we aim to demonstrate is that we deserve to be there,” he emphasizes. “So that we show up and we perform competently. We seek to prove that we are a serious contender performing the correct procedures on the track. When we’ve shown that our credentials are solid, then we aim to demonstrate improvement from there on.”
Driver Lineup and Recruitment Drive
In August they signed Checo Pérez and Valtteri Bottas as their pilots for 2026, a duo distinguished for their priceless expertise in operating at the sharp end in two championship-winning squads, the Red Bull team and the Mercedes team, and Valtteri Bottas expressed the sentiment of combative optimism.
“Naturally, we have a realistic outlook,” Bottas stated. “There’s going to be a mountain of work to do, and we expect almost certainly a difficult start, because it's the top level of motorsport. But we aren't joining to stay at the back. I am confident with this setup, with this group, these personnel, there’s no reason why we can't manage to progress rapidly to a competitive level and taste victory.”
To achieve that goal staff acquisition has been in top gear, with employees now reaching over 400 and planned to hit the objective of 600 members rapidly. Complementing their current base at the Silverstone circuit, the team are in the process of finishing an HQ at the Fishers location in the Indianapolis area and there is the GM works in North Carolina, where they are developing the plant to build the new engine, set for the 2029 season – until then they will run Ferrari engines – and the aerodynamic facility in Cologne, Germany. It is a sophisticated organization, at odds with the trend in the sport for increased consolidation, and has led to the new cultural approach to which Nick Chester referred.
NASA Model
“It's closely based on the Apollo program,” remarked Graeme Lowdon shortly before the British Grand Prix in July. “We’re realistic, we know how difficult it is. The deadlines, are extremely compressed. Well, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have embraced, instead of the usual hierarchical system, a non-hierarchical approach similar to that of NASA's, where there were a assortment of specialist groups all tackling different aspects of the mission in a variety of locations.
“When you must follow a process where someone has a problem and they escalate it to their manager, that leader communicates with a leader at a different location, it goes back down the chain, it’s super slow,” explains Nick Chester. “So we empower people to take charge. Moving away from hierarchical consent for each action is much smoother and quicker.”
What Lies Ahead
The success of this agile methodology will be proven in the pressure of racing next season and there is a significant degree at stake for Formula One, too. The Cadillac team have recruited as their test driver the young Californian Colton Herta
