Just over one year in the past at the Nevada Grand Prix, Cadillac were finally given the official approval as the world of Formula One's latest participant for 2026. Establishing the squad from the ground up has required a frenetic work rate that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo moon landing. As the sport descends on the Vegas strip this weekend, the team understand the clock is ticking.
The Race Against Time to Melbourne
At the final race of the season to be hosted in the America, with approximately a hundred days to go before they make their debut for the maiden outing in Australia at the 2026 opener, Cadillac have made significant progress but, in what must seem like a monumental endeavor, they are aware there will never be sufficient time.
The CTO, Nick Chester, came aboard the nascent team in March 2023 shortly after it was formed, when the organization were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its core from that point and has a knowing grin when reflecting on the ride.
“There might be five minutes thinking back at what you have accomplished and think: ‘Wow, what an achievement what the team has created in less than three years,’” Chester states. “And then the next minute you realize: ‘Yes, we still have a great deal to do.’”
A One-of-a-Kind Opportunity
The CTO had success at the Renault team in the driver Fernando Alonso's victorious seasons of 2005/2006 and was in control of technical development at the recently formed Mercedes Formula E team, but no other project has been quite like the challenge of bringing the quintessentially American Cadillac brand, a works entry sponsored by the parent company, General Motors Corporation, into F1.
“Creating an grand prix team from scratch, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he observes. “There's nothing comparable. In an existing team you don’t get the possibility to transform team culture.”
With every day that passes thoughts are increasingly concentrated on the approaching decisive point in Australia and goals are being handled.
“You have to assume that any incoming team entering the sport is likely to start at the back but merely participating will be an achievement in itself,” Graeme Lowdon stated recently and while the CTO agreed with this sentiment he believed the squad had a point to prove as well.
“Our primary goal we aim to demonstrate is that we deserve to be there,” he says. “So that we show up and we operate well. We aim to demonstrate that we are a serious contender executing the proper actions on the circuit. After we’ve shown that our credentials are solid, then we will focus on progression from there on.”
Racing Talent and Recruitment Drive
In August they recruited Checo Pérez and Valtteri as their drivers for the 2026 season, a duo distinguished for their invaluable experience in competing at the leading positions in two of the sport’s biggest teams, Red Bull and the Mercedes team, and Bottas expressed the mood of fighting spirit.
“Certainly, we are pragmatic,” he commented. “We face a mountain of work to do, and it’s going to be probably a difficult start, because this is Formula One. But we aren't joining to stay at the back. I am confident given this organization, with these individuals, these people, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to advance swiftly up to the pace and enjoy some success.”
To that end recruitment has been in top gear, with staff now reaching over 400 and intended to hit the goal of 600 members rapidly. Complementing their present headquarters at the UK base, the squad are in the phase of finishing an HQ at the Fishers location in Indy and there is the General Motors facility in Charlotte, where they are constructing the plant to build the power unit, planned for 2029 – in the meantime they will use Ferrari power units – and the aerodynamic facility in Germany. It is a sophisticated organization, different from the direction in F1 for more centralization, and has inspired the new cultural approach to which Nick Chester referred.
NASA Model
“We've drawn heavily from the Apollo program,” stated Graeme Lowdon just before the Silverstone race in July. “We’re realistic, we know how challenging it is. The schedules, are incredibly tight. Alright, it's not a space expedition, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have implemented, rather than the usual hierarchical system, a decentralized management akin to that of NASA's, where there were a assortment of project teams all tackling distinct elements of the project in a multiple sites.
“If you have to go through a protocol where an issue arises and they escalate it to their manager, that leader talks to a manager somewhere else, it goes back down the chain, it becomes inefficient,” notes the CTO. “Therefore we enable team members to really get on with it. Avoiding managerial sign-off for each action is far more efficient and quicker.”
The Future
The effectiveness of this flexible strategy will be evaluated in the pressure of racing in 2026 and there is a considerable amount on the line for Formula One, too. The Cadillac team have taken on as their development driver the young Californian Colton Herta
