Approximately twelve months ago at the Vegas Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were at last awarded the go-ahead as the world of Formula One's latest participant for the 2026 season. Constructing the squad from nothing has required a intense work rate that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the Apollo moon landing. As F1 descends on Vegas this race weekend, the team are aware time is getting tight.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the final race of the season to be hosted in the America, with around three months to go before they hit the circuit for the maiden outing in Australia at the first race of 2026, the Cadillac F1 project have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a sisyphean endeavor, they are aware there will not be enough hours in the day.
The CTO, Nick Chester, became part of the nascent project in the spring of 2023 soon after it was formed, when the team were without even an approved entry. He has been at its center from that point and gets a wry smile when reflecting on the ride.
“There might be a brief moment reflecting at what you have accomplished and go: ‘Amazing, what an achievement what the team has created in less than three years,’” he notes. “But then the following moment you think: ‘Yeah, there is still quite a lot to do.’”
A Unique Challenge
Nick Chester enjoyed success at the Renault team in Alonso's championship-winning campaigns of 2005 and 2006 and was in control of technical direction at the new Mercedes electric racing team, but no previous experience has truly matched the task of introducing the iconic American Cadillac name, a factory team supported by the parent company, General Motors, into F1.
“Creating an F1 team from scratch, 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 transform organizational mindset.”
With each passing day that passes thoughts are increasingly concentrated on the impending critical moment in Australia and targets are being set realistically.
“It's reasonable to expect that a brand-new squad coming in is probably going to finish last but just making it to the starting line will be an feat in itself,” the team principal noted earlier this year and while the CTO shared this view he felt the team had a statement to make as well.
“The first thing we want to show is that we belong on the grid,” Chester explains. “In order that we turn up and we perform competently. We aim to demonstrate that this is a professional operation executing the correct procedures on the track. When we’ve shown that we are a legitimate team, then we will focus on progression subsequently.”
Driver Lineup and Recruitment Push
In August they signed Checo Pérez and Bottas as their racers for 2026, a tandem distinguished for their priceless expertise in performing at the front in two top-tier teams, Red Bull Racing and the Mercedes team, and Valtteri Bottas reflected the sentiment of fighting spirit.
“Of course, we’re realistic,” Bottas stated. “There’s going to be a massive task to do, and it’s going to be almost certainly a challenging beginning, because it is F1. But we’re not there to stay at the back. I believe with this setup, with these individuals, these personnel, it's entirely possible we won't be able to get relatively quickly to a competitive level and taste victory.”
To achieve that goal staff acquisition has been in full swing, with employees now at more than 400 and scheduled to reach the objective of 600 rapidly. In addition to their present headquarters at the Silverstone circuit, the organization are in the midst of building an HQ at Fishers, Indiana in Indy and there is the GM plant in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are developing the center to manufacture the new engine, scheduled for 2029 – in the meantime they will run Ferrari power units – and the aerodynamic facility in Germany. It is a intricate organisation, different from the direction in F1 for greater centralisation, and has led to the new cultural approach to which the CTO referred.
Space Mission Blueprint
“It’s highly modelled on the Apollo project,” remarked Lowdon shortly before the Silverstone race in July. “We are pragmatic, we understand how tough it is. The deadlines, are incredibly tight. OK, we aren't launching a lunar mission, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have adopted, as opposed to the traditional management structure, a flat management structure comparable to that of the space agency's, where there were a range of specialist groups all focusing on distinct elements of the project in a different facilities.
“In a system where you follow a protocol where someone has a problem and they raise it up to their team leader, that leader talks to a manager somewhere else, it travels back down, it becomes inefficient,” notes Nick Chester. “We give authority to team members to take charge. Avoiding managerial sign-off for everything is much smoother and faster.”
The Future
The success of this agile approach will be evaluated in the heat of competition next season and there is a significant degree riding on this for the sport, too. The Cadillac team have recruited as their test driver the emerging American Colton Herta
