Approximately one year in the past at the Nevada Grand Prix, Cadillac were at last awarded the green light as F1's most recent entry for 2026. Establishing the organization from nothing has required a intense pace of work that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo program. As Formula One arrives on Vegas this weekend, the team are aware the clock is ticking.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the last event of the season to be hosted in the US, with just over 100 days to go before they make their debut for the inaugural time in Melbourne at the 2026 opener, Cadillac have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a monumental task, they are cognizant there will never be enough hours in the day.
The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, joined the newly formed project in early 2023 shortly after it was formed, when the organization were without even an approved entry. He has been at its core from that point and enjoys a amused expression when thinking about the journey.
“You might get five minutes reflecting at what you have accomplished and go: ‘Amazing, how impressive what we’ve done in less than three years,’” Chester states. “But then the very next instant you consider: ‘Well, we still have a significant amount to do.’”
A Unique Challenge
Chester achieved victories at Renault in Alonso's title-winning years of 2005 and 2006 and was in charge of technical direction at the then-new Mercedes Formula E team, but no previous experience has truly matched the mission of launching the all-American Cadillac name, a manufacturer-backed entry backed by the owner, GM, into Formula One.
“Creating an Formula One team from the ground up, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he says. “There's nothing comparable. In an well-set team you won't have the chance to change cultural approach.”
With every day that passes minds are more focused on the approaching decisive point in Australia and expectations are being managed.
“It's reasonable to expect that any new team coming in is likely to start at the back but just making it to the starting line will be an feat in itself,” Graeme Lowdon stated recently and while the CTO echoed this he thought the squad had a reputation to build as well.
“The initial objective we want to show is that we deserve to be there,” he emphasizes. “In order that we turn up and we operate well. We want to show that this is a professional operation executing the right things on the track. After we prove that our credentials are solid, then we aim to demonstrate forward movement after that.”
Pilot Selection and Hiring Drive
In late summer they recruited Sergio Pérez and Valtteri as their drivers for 2026, a pair remarkable for their vast knowledge in operating at the sharp end in two championship-winning squads, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes, and the Finnish driver echoed the mood of fighting spirit.
“Certainly, we are pragmatic,” Bottas stated. “We face a mountain of work to do, and we expect probably a tough opening, because this is Formula One. But our goal isn't to finish last. I believe with this structure, with this team, these personnel, there is every reason that we won't be able to advance swiftly to a competitive level and achieve good results.”
To realize that ambition staff acquisition has been in overdrive, with personnel now reaching over 400 and scheduled to hit the objective of six hundred swiftly. Complementing their present headquarters at the UK base, the squad are in the midst of building an headquarters at Fishers, Indiana in the Indianapolis area and there is the General Motors facility in Charlotte, where they are constructing the center to produce the power unit, planned for 2029 – for now they will operate with power from Ferrari – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany. It is a sophisticated organization, contrary to the trend in F1 for more centralization, and has prompted the innovative team culture to which Nick Chester referred.
Apollo Model
“It's closely based on the Apollo program,” said Lowdon just before the Silverstone race in mid-season. “We’re realistic, we know how challenging it is. The deadlines, are extremely compressed. Well, it's not a space expedition, but it feels like it sometimes.”
So they have implemented, instead of the traditional management structure, a flat management structure similar to that of Nasa’s, where there were a range of project teams all focusing on various components of the mission at a variety of locations.
“When you must follow a protocol where an issue arises and they escalate it to their team leader, that leader consults a manager at a different location, it is relayed back, the process is very slow,” notes Nick Chester. “We give authority to team members to take charge. Eliminating hierarchical consent for everything is far more efficient and more rapid.”
Upcoming Challenges
The effectiveness of this nimble approach will be tested in the intensity of Grand Prix next season and there is a significant degree on the line for Formula One, too. The Cadillac team have taken on as their reserve driver the young American Colton Herta
