Just over one year ago at the Nevada Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were finally granted the green light as Formula One’s latest participant for the 2026 season. Building the squad from nothing has involved a frenetic work rate that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo program. As F1 converges on Vegas this weekend, Cadillac are aware the clock is ticking.
The Race Against Time to Australia
At the final race of the season to be hosted in the United States, with approximately three months to go before they take to the track for the first time in Australia at the 2026 opener, Cadillac have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a never-ending endeavor, they are cognizant there will never be adequate time.
The CTO, Nick Chester, came aboard the nascent operation in March 2023 not long after it was established, when the team were without even an approved entry. He has been at its center since then and has a amused expression when reflecting on the experience.
“There might be a brief moment reflecting at what you’ve done and think: ‘Incredible, isn’t this fantastic what we’ve done in under three years,’” he says. “But then the very next instant you consider: ‘Yeah, there is still quite a lot to do.’”
A One-of-a-Kind Task
Chester enjoyed success at the Renault team in Alonso's victorious years of 2005 and 2006 and was in control of technical development at the new Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but no previous experience has been quite like the mission of introducing the all-American Cadillac name, a manufacturer-backed entry backed by the corporate entity, General Motors Corporation, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Creating an Formula One team from nothing, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” he observes. “It's unparalleled. In an well-set team you don’t get the chance to transform team culture.”
With each passing day that goes by minds are more focused on the impending critical moment in Australia and targets are being set realistically.
“One must presume that any incoming team entering the sport is likely to start at the back but just making it to the starting line will be an achievement in itself,” Lowdon stated recently and while the CTO echoed this he thought the organization had a reputation to build as well.
“The first thing we want to show is that we should be there,” Chester explains. “So we turn up and we perform competently. We want to show that we are a serious contender performing the right things on the race track. Once we prove that our credentials are solid, then we will focus on forward movement subsequently.”
Driver Lineup and Hiring Effort
In late summer they contracted Sergio Pérez and Valtteri as their racers for 2026, a duo distinguished for their invaluable experience in operating at the leading positions in two of the sport’s biggest teams, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes, and Bottas expressed the mood of determined optimism.
“Of course, we have a realistic outlook,” he said. “We have a massive task to do, and it will likely be most likely a tough opening, because it's the top level of motorsport. But we’re not there to stay at the back. In my view given this organization, with this group, these personnel, it's entirely possible we can't manage to progress rapidly up to the pace and taste victory.”
To achieve that goal hiring has been in top gear, with employees now reaching more than 400 and intended to reach the goal of six hundred rapidly. Alongside their present headquarters at Silverstone, the organization are in the phase of completing an main base at Fishers in the Indianapolis area and there is the GM plant in North Carolina, where they are constructing the center to produce the 2029 engine, scheduled for the 2029 season – until then they will operate with power from Ferrari – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Germany. It is a intricate organisation, different from the direction in F1 for more centralization, and has prompted the innovative team culture to which the CTO referred to.
Apollo Blueprint
“It's closely based on the Apollo program,” stated Lowdon ahead of the British GP in mid-season. “We have a clear-eyed view, we recognize how tough it is. The timelines, are extremely compressed. OK, we aren't launching a lunar mission, but it can seem that way.”
So they have embraced, rather than the usual hierarchical system, a flat management structure comparable to that of the space agency's, where there were a range of specialist groups all tackling different aspects of the project in a different facilities.
“In a system where you follow a protocol where an issue arises and they escalate it to their supervisor, that leader consults a supervisor somewhere else, it travels back down, it’s super slow,” notes the CTO. “Therefore we enable team members to handle things directly. Moving away from hierarchical consent for everything is far more efficient and more rapid.”
What Lies Ahead
The success of this agile approach will be proven in the pressure of racing when the season begins and there is a considerable amount at stake for the sport, too. The Cadillac team have signed as their test driver the emerging American Colton Herta
