A little more than a full year ago at the Nevada Grand Prix, Cadillac were at last awarded the go-ahead as F1's newest participant for 2026. Constructing the organization from nothing has involved a intense pace of work that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the Apollo program. As Formula One descends on Las Vegas this weekend, the team know the clock is ticking.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the last event of the season to be held in the United States, with around three months to go before they take to the track for the first time in Melbourne at the 2026 season opener, Cadillac have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a monumental endeavor, they are aware there will not be adequate time.
The CTO, Nick Chester, came aboard the nascent operation in early 2023 shortly after it was established, when the team were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its core ever since and enjoys a wry smile when reflecting on the ride.
“You can have a brief moment looking back at what the team has achieved and think: ‘Wow, what an achievement what the team has created in under three years,’” he says. “Then the following moment you think: ‘Yeah, we still have a great deal to do.’”
A One-of-a-Kind Opportunity
Chester had success at the Renault team in the driver Fernando Alonso's title-winning seasons of 2005/2006 and was in control of technical direction at the new Mercedes electric racing team, but nothing has been quite like the mission of introducing the all-American Cadillac marque, a manufacturer-backed entry sponsored by the corporate entity, GM, into Formula One.
“Creating an F1 team from scratch, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he says. “There's nothing comparable. In an existing team you rarely get the opportunity to alter cultural approach.”
With every day that passes focus are sharper on the impending critical moment in Australia and targets are being handled.
“It's reasonable to expect that a brand-new squad entering the sport is going to be last but just making it to the starting line will be an feat in itself,” Graeme Lowdon noted this year and while Nick Chester shared this view he thought the team had a reputation to build as well.
“The initial objective we aim to demonstrate is that we should be there,” Chester explains. “In order that we arrive and we function efficiently. We aim to demonstrate that we are a serious contender performing the proper actions on the race track. When we prove that we’re really credible, then we want to show improvement after that.”
Pilot Selection and Hiring Drive
In late summer they contracted Checo Pérez and Bottas as their pilots for 2026, a duo notable for their invaluable experience in operating at the front in two top-tier teams, the Red Bull team and Mercedes-AMG, and Bottas reflected the sentiment of combative optimism.
“Certainly, we’re realistic,” he said. “We have a massive task to do, and it will likely be almost certainly a tough opening, because it's the top level of motorsport. But we aren't joining to stay at the back. I am confident with this structure, with this group, these personnel, it's entirely possible we shouldn’t be able to get relatively quickly to a competitive level and taste victory.”
To realize that ambition hiring has been in overdrive, with personnel now up to more than 400 and scheduled to hit the objective of 600 members quickly. Complementing their present headquarters at the Silverstone circuit, the squad are in the phase of completing an headquarters at Fishers in Indianapolis and there is the GM works in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are constructing the center to build the 2029 engine, scheduled for 2029 – in the meantime they will use Ferrari engines – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany. It is a complex organization, different from the direction in the sport for more centralization, and has led to the fresh organizational mindset to which Nick Chester referred to.
Apollo Inspiration
“We've drawn heavily from the NASA moon mission,” remarked Graeme Lowdon ahead of the British Grand Prix in July. “We have a clear-eyed view, we understand how difficult it is. The timelines, are extremely compressed. Alright, it's not a space expedition, but it feels like it sometimes.”
So they have adopted, rather than the traditional management structure, a flat management structure similar to that of NASA's, where there were a variety of project teams all tackling various components of the program at a variety of locations.
“If you have to go through a process where a challenge emerges and they raise it up to their supervisor, that leader talks to a manager in another department, it goes back down the chain, it becomes inefficient,” explains Nick Chester. “So we empower team members to really get on with it. Eliminating hierarchical consent for all decisions is so much cleaner and faster.”
What Lies Ahead
The effectiveness of this flexible strategy will be tested in the intensity of Grand Prix next season and there is a significant degree on the line for the sport, too. Cadillac have signed as their reserve driver the 25-year-old Californian Colton Herta
