Just over twelve months ago at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately awarded the green light as Formula One’s newest participant for the 2026 season. Establishing the squad from nothing has entailed a intense work rate that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the Apollo moon landing. As Formula One arrives on the Vegas strip this weekend, Cadillac know 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 take to the track for the maiden outing in Melbourne at the 2026 season opener, Cadillac have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a sisyphean endeavor, they are aware there will never be enough hours in the day.
The technical director, Nick Chester, came aboard the nascent operation in early 2023 shortly after it was established, when the team were without even an approved entry. He has been at its center since then and gets a amused expression when reflecting on the journey.
“There might be a short period reflecting at what you’ve done and think: ‘Incredible, how impressive what we have built in less than three years,’” Chester states. “But then the following moment you think: ‘Well, we still have a great deal to do.’”
A One-of-a-Kind Opportunity
Chester enjoyed success at the Renault team in Alonso's title-winning seasons of 2005 and 2006 and was in charge of technical direction at the then-new Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but nothing has been quite like the task of introducing the quintessentially American Cadillac brand, a manufacturer-backed entry backed by the owner, General Motors, into F1.
“Establishing an grand prix team from scratch, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” he says. “There's nothing comparable. In an established team you won't have the possibility to transform team culture.”
With each passing day that goes by thoughts are more focused on the impending critical moment in the Australian GP and expectations are being managed.
“You have to assume that any incoming team joining the grid is likely to start at the back but just making it to the starting line will be an accomplishment in itself,” Lowdon commented this year and while the CTO echoed this he felt the squad had a reputation to build as well.
“Our primary goal we want to show is that we should be there,” he emphasizes. “So we show up and we perform competently. We seek to prove that this is a professional operation doing the right things on the circuit. Once we have demonstrated that we are a legitimate team, then we want to show progression after that.”
Racing Talent and Hiring Effort
In the summer they recruited Sergio Perez and Bottas as their pilots for 2026, a pair remarkable for their vast knowledge in performing at the front in two top-tier teams, Red Bull Racing and the Mercedes team, and Bottas reflected the attitude of fighting spirit.
“Of course, we’re realistic,” he said. “We face a massive task to do, and it’s going to be almost certainly a challenging beginning, because this is Formula One. But we aren't joining to finish last. In my view with this structure, with these individuals, these personnel, there is every reason that we won't be able to advance swiftly up to the pace and achieve good results.”
To that end hiring has been in top gear, with staff now at over 400 and planned to hit the objective of 600 members quickly. Alongside their existing facility at the Silverstone circuit, the team are in the process of building an headquarters at Fishers in Indy and there is the GM plant in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are building the center to manufacture the new engine, set for 2029 – until then they will run Ferrari power units – and the aerodynamic facility in Cologne. It is a complex organisation, different from the trend in F1 for greater centralisation, and has prompted the fresh organizational mindset to which Nick Chester referred to.
Space Mission Inspiration
“It’s highly modelled on the NASA moon mission,” stated the team principal shortly before the British Grand Prix in mid-season. “We have a clear-eyed view, we understand how challenging it is. The schedules, they’re super, super, super short. Well, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but it can seem that way.”
So they have embraced, as opposed to 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 program at a multiple sites.
“If you have to go through a procedure where an issue arises and they report it to their team leader, that manager consults a manager somewhere else, it is relayed back, it becomes inefficient,” says the CTO. “So we empower people to handle things directly. Avoiding management approval for everything is much smoother and quicker.”
The Future
The effectiveness of this agile approach will be evaluated in the heat of competition when the season begins and there is a significant degree at stake for F1, too. The Cadillac team have taken on as their reserve driver the emerging Californian Colton Herta
