A little more than a full year ago at the Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately given the official approval as the world of Formula One's newest participant for the 2026 season. Constructing the organization from scratch has involved a hectic pace of work that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the NASA lunar mission. As F1 arrives on the Vegas strip this weekend, Cadillac understand the clock is ticking.
The Race Against Time to Melbourne
At the last event of the championship to be hosted in the US, with just over a hundred days to go before they hit the circuit for the inaugural time in Australia at the first race of 2026, Cadillac have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a sisyphean task, they are conscious there will never be adequate time.
The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, became part of the nascent team in March 2023 shortly after it was formed, when the squad were without even an approved entry. He has been at its center since then and enjoys a wry smile when considering the experience.
“There might be a brief moment looking back at what you have accomplished and go: ‘Incredible, how impressive what we’ve done in a short three-year period,’” he says. “Then the next minute you consider: ‘Yeah, there is still a great deal to do.’”
An Unprecedented Challenge
Chester enjoyed success at the Renault team in Alonso's victorious campaigns of 2005 and 2006 and was in command of technical direction at the recently formed Mercedes Formula E team, but nothing has truly matched the mission of launching the quintessentially American Cadillac name, a works entry backed by the owner, GM, into Formula One.
“Establishing an F1 team from nothing, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he observes. “It is like nothing else. In an established team you rarely get the possibility to change organizational mindset.”
With each passing day that passes focus are increasingly concentrated on the impending critical moment in Melbourne and goals are being handled.
“One must presume that any new team entering the sport is likely to start at the back but merely participating will be an achievement in itself,” the team principal noted this year and while Chester agreed with this sentiment he thought the team had a statement to make as well.
“The initial objective we intend to prove is that we belong on the grid,” he emphasizes. “In order that we arrive and we perform competently. We want to show that we are a serious contender doing the correct procedures on the race track. After we have demonstrated that our credentials are solid, then we want to show improvement subsequently.”
Racing Talent and Team Building Push
In late summer they contracted Checo Pérez and Valtteri Bottas as their drivers for 2026, a duo remarkable for their vast knowledge in operating at the sharp end in two championship-winning squads, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes-AMG, and Bottas expressed the attitude of fighting spirit.
“Of course, we have a realistic outlook,” he said. “We face a massive task to do, and we expect almost certainly a difficult start, because it is F1. But we’re not there to remain at the rear. In my view with this structure, with this team, this staff, there is every reason that we won't be able to advance swiftly to the front and achieve good results.”
To that end recruitment has been in overdrive, with employees now up to more than 400 and scheduled to reach the target of 600 members swiftly. Alongside their present headquarters at the Silverstone circuit, the organization are in the phase of completing an HQ at Fishers, Indiana in the Indianapolis area and there is the General Motors facility in Charlotte, where they are constructing the facility to produce the power unit, planned for the 2029 season – until then they will operate with Ferrari engines – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany. It is a sophisticated organisation, contrary to the direction in the sport for increased consolidation, and has led to the new cultural approach to which the CTO alluded.
NASA Inspiration
“It's closely based on the Apollo program,” remarked Lowdon ahead of the British Grand Prix in the summer. “We have a clear-eyed view, we know how tough it is. The schedules, they’re super, super, super short. Alright, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have embraced, rather than the usual hierarchical system, a flat management structure similar to that of the space agency's, where there were a range of specialist groups all tackling different aspects of the project in a variety of locations.
“If you have to go through a procedure where an issue arises and they escalate it to their manager, that manager communicates with a leader at a different location, it goes back down the chain, it becomes inefficient,” explains the CTO. “We give authority to staff to take charge. Eliminating hierarchical consent for everything is so much cleaner and faster.”
What Lies Ahead
The success of this flexible approach will be tested in the heat of competition when the season begins and there is no little amount at stake for the sport, too. The Cadillac team have recruited as their test driver the emerging American Colton Herta
