Just over one year in the past at the Nevada Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately given the go-ahead as the world of Formula One's latest entry for 2026. Establishing the squad from the ground up has entailed a frenetic work rate that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the Apollo program. As the sport arrives on Las Vegas this race weekend, Cadillac understand the deadline is approaching.
The Race Against Time to Melbourne
At the final race of the championship to be hosted in the United States, with approximately three months to go before they make their debut for the first time in Australia at the first race of 2026, the Cadillac F1 project have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a never-ending task, they are cognizant there will not be enough hours in the day.
The technical director, Nick Chester, became part of the nascent operation in March 2023 shortly after it was formed, when the squad were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its heart since then and has a wry smile when reflecting on the ride.
“You can have a brief moment thinking back at what the team has achieved and say: ‘Amazing, what an achievement what we’ve done in under three years,’” he notes. “And then the following moment you think: ‘Yes, we still have a significant amount to do.’”
An Unprecedented Opportunity
Chester achieved victories at the Renault team in Fernando Alonso’s title-winning seasons of 2005 and 2006 and was in control of technical direction at the new Mercedes Formula E team, but no previous experience has truly matched the mission of launching the quintessentially American Cadillac marque, a works entry backed by the corporate entity, General Motors, into F1.
“Creating an grand prix team from nothing, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” Chester remarks. “It is like nothing else. In an established team you won't have the opportunity to change organizational mindset.”
With every day that goes by minds are sharper on the impending decisive point in Melbourne and expectations are being managed.
“You have to assume that any incoming team entering the sport is probably going to finish last but just making it to the starting line will be an accomplishment in itself,” the team principal stated earlier this year and while the CTO echoed this he felt the team had a point to prove as well.
“Our primary goal we intend to prove is that we deserve to be there,” he emphasizes. “In order that we show up and we perform competently. We want to show that we are a serious contender executing the right things on the circuit. After we’ve shown that we’re really credible, then we want to show improvement from there on.”
Driver Lineup and Hiring Push
In August they signed Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas as their drivers for the 2026 season, a tandem distinguished for their vast knowledge in operating at the front in two of the sport’s biggest teams, Red Bull and the Mercedes team, and the Finnish driver echoed the sentiment of combative optimism.
“Of course, we have a realistic outlook,” he said. “There’s going to be a mountain of work to do, and we expect almost certainly a difficult start, because it is F1. But our goal isn't to stay at the back. I believe with this structure, with this group, these people, there is every reason that we won't be able to advance swiftly to the front and taste victory.”
To realize that ambition hiring has been in overdrive, with staff now at over 400 and intended to attain the target of 600 members swiftly. Alongside their existing facility at Silverstone, the organization are in the phase of building an headquarters at Fishers in Indy and there is the GM plant in North Carolina, where they are developing the facility to produce the 2029 engine, scheduled for 2029 – until then they will run Ferrari power units – and the aerodynamic facility in Cologne, Germany. It is a complex organisation, contrary to the direction in the sport for increased consolidation, and has inspired the new cultural approach to which Chester referred.
Space Mission Inspiration
“It's closely based on the NASA moon mission,” remarked the team principal ahead of the Silverstone race in July. “We are pragmatic, we understand how difficult it is. The timelines, are extremely compressed. Alright, we aren't launching a lunar mission, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have embraced, rather than the traditional management structure, a non-hierarchical approach comparable to that of Nasa’s, where there were a range of Apollo teams all working on different aspects of the program in a different facilities.
“In a system where you follow a protocol where an issue arises and they report it to their manager, that supervisor talks to a leader at a different location, it goes back down the chain, it’s super slow,” notes Chester. “Therefore we enable people to really get on with it. Moving away from managerial sign-off for everything is so much cleaner and quicker.”
What Lies Ahead
The efficacy of this agile approach will be proven in the heat of competition in 2026 and there is a significant degree on the line for F1, too. Cadillac have recruited as their reserve driver the 25-year-old Californian Colton Herta
