Just over twelve months ago at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were at last given the go-ahead as the world of Formula One's newest entrant for 2026. Establishing the organization from the ground up has involved a hectic work rate that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo program. As Formula One arrives on Vegas this race weekend, Cadillac know time is getting tight.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the last event of the season to be hosted in the United States, with just over 100 days to go before they hit the circuit for the maiden outing in Australia at the 2026 season opener, Cadillac have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a never-ending task, they are aware there will not be sufficient time.
The CTO, Nick Chester, joined the nascent operation in March 2023 not long after it was created, when the organization were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its core from that point and has a wry smile when thinking about the journey.
“You can have a brief moment looking back at what the team has achieved and think: ‘Incredible, isn’t this fantastic what we’ve done in less than three years,’” he says. “But then the following moment you think: ‘Well, there is still quite a lot to do.’”
A Unique Challenge
Chester enjoyed success at the Renault team in Fernando Alonso’s championship-winning campaigns of 2005 and 2006 and was in command of engineering strategy at the new Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but no previous experience has been quite like the mission of bringing the all-American Cadillac marque, a works entry backed by the owner, General Motors, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Building an Formula One team from scratch, when will you ever have the possibility to do that?” he says. “There's nothing comparable. In an established team you rarely get the possibility to transform cultural approach.”
With each day that goes by focus are more focused on the impending moment of truth in the Australian GP and expectations are being set realistically.
“You have to assume that any incoming team coming in is going to be last but merely participating will be an achievement in itself,” Graeme Lowdon noted this year and while the CTO echoed this he thought the team had a statement to make as well.
“The first thing we intend to prove is that we should be there,” Chester explains. “In order that we arrive and we operate well. We seek to prove that we are a serious contender executing the right things on the race track. Once we prove that we are a legitimate team, then we will focus on progression subsequently.”
Pilot Selection and Recruitment Effort
In the summer they signed Sergio Perez and Valtteri as their racers for the 2026 season, a tandem notable for their vast knowledge in operating at the front in two of the sport’s biggest teams, the Red Bull team and the Mercedes team, and Valtteri Bottas echoed the attitude of combative optimism.
“Naturally, we’re realistic,” he commented. “There’s going to be a massive task to do, and it’s going to be almost certainly a tough opening, because it is F1. But our goal isn't to finish last. In my view with this structure, with this team, these personnel, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to advance swiftly to the front and enjoy some success.”
To achieve that goal hiring has been in full swing, with staff now at over 400 and intended to reach the objective of six hundred quickly. In addition to their present headquarters at the Silverstone circuit, the organization are in the phase of finishing an main base at Fishers in the Indianapolis area and there is the General Motors facility in Charlotte, where they are developing the center to build the 2029 engine, planned for 2029 – in the meantime they will use Ferrari engines – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Germany. It is a intricate organization, contrary to the direction in F1 for greater centralisation, and has inspired the new cultural approach to which Nick Chester referred to.
Space Mission Inspiration
“It’s highly modelled on the Apollo program,” said the team principal just before the British GP in mid-season. “We’re realistic, we recognize how challenging it is. The schedules, are extremely compressed. Well, we aren't launching a lunar mission, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have implemented, instead of the usual hierarchical system, a non-hierarchical approach comparable to that of NASA's, where there were a variety of project teams all tackling various components of the project across a multiple sites.
“In a system where you follow a procedure where an issue arises and they escalate it to their manager, that manager talks to a leader at a different location, it is relayed back, it becomes inefficient,” explains Nick Chester. “So we empower staff to handle things directly. Eliminating management approval for each action is much smoother and faster.”
What Lies Ahead
The efficacy of this flexible methodology will be proven in the heat of competition next season and there is a considerable amount on the line for the sport, too. The Cadillac team have signed as their development driver the 25-year-old Californian Colton Herta
