Approximately twelve months ago at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately given the green light as Formula One’s latest entrant for 2026. Establishing the team from nothing has entailed a frenetic pace of work that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the NASA lunar mission. As the sport converges on Vegas this weekend, the team are aware the deadline is approaching.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the last event of the campaign to be held in the United States, with around 100 days to go before they make their debut for the first time in Australia at the 2026 season opener, Cadillac have made significant progress but, in what must seem like a sisyphean challenge, they are conscious there will not be enough hours in the day.
The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, came aboard the nascent project in early 2023 soon after it was created, when the organization were without even an approved entry. He has been at its heart ever since and enjoys a knowing grin when reflecting on the experience.
“There might be a brief moment reflecting at what the team has achieved and say: ‘Wow, isn’t this fantastic what we’ve done in under three years,’” he notes. “And then the next minute you think: ‘Well, there is still a great deal to do.’”
A One-of-a-Kind Task
Nick Chester achieved victories at the Renault team in Fernando Alonso’s championship-winning years of 2005/2006 and was in control of technical direction at the recently formed Mercedes Formula E team, but no previous experience has been quite like the mission of launching the all-American Cadillac name, a manufacturer-backed entry backed by the owner, General Motors Corporation, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Building an F1 team from the ground up, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” Chester remarks. “There's nothing comparable. In an existing team you rarely get the chance to transform cultural approach.”
With each passing day that elapses thoughts are sharper on the impending decisive point in the Australian GP and targets are being managed.
“One must presume that any incoming team coming in is probably going to finish last but merely participating will be an feat in itself,” the team principal commented recently and while the CTO agreed with this sentiment he felt the squad had a statement to make as well.
“Our primary goal we want to show is that we should be there,” he says. “In order that we turn up and we operate well. We want to show that this is a professional operation performing the correct procedures on the race track. Once we have demonstrated that our credentials are solid, then we want to show forward movement after that.”
Driver Lineup and Recruitment Effort
In late summer they recruited Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas as their drivers for 2026, a tandem distinguished for their invaluable experience in operating at the front in two of the sport’s biggest teams, the Red Bull team and Mercedes-AMG, and Valtteri Bottas echoed the attitude of determined optimism.
“Certainly, we have a realistic outlook,” he said. “We have a huge amount of work to do, and it will likely be almost certainly a challenging beginning, because it's the top level of motorsport. But we aren't joining to remain at the rear. In my view given this organization, with these individuals, these people, it's entirely possible we won't be able to get relatively quickly to a competitive level and enjoy some success.”
To achieve that goal staff acquisition has been in overdrive, with employees now up to in excess of 400 and intended to hit the objective of 600 members swiftly. In addition to their current base at the Silverstone circuit, the organization are in the phase of completing an headquarters at Fishers, Indiana in Indianapolis and there is the GM plant in North Carolina, where they are building the plant to build the new engine, scheduled for 2029 – until then they will operate with Ferrari power units – and the aerodynamic facility in Cologne. It is a intricate structure, at odds with the movement in F1 for greater centralisation, and has led to the innovative team culture to which the CTO alluded.
NASA Blueprint
“It's closely based on the NASA moon mission,” remarked Lowdon just before the British Grand Prix in mid-season. “We have a clear-eyed view, we recognize how tough it is. The schedules, are incredibly tight. Well, it's not a space expedition, but it can seem that way.”
So they have implemented, instead of the conventional chain of command, a flat management structure comparable to that of NASA's, where there were a assortment of Apollo teams all tackling distinct elements of the mission at a different facilities.
“When you must follow a protocol where an issue arises and they report it to their manager, that supervisor communicates with a leader at a different location, it is relayed back, it’s super slow,” notes Nick Chester. “We give authority to team members to take charge. Eliminating managerial sign-off for everything is much smoother and quicker.”
What Lies Ahead
The success of this nimble strategy will be tested in the intensity of Grand Prix in 2026 and there is a significant degree riding on this for the sport, too. Cadillac have signed as their test driver the young American Colton Herta
