A little more than a full year previously at the Vegas Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were finally awarded the official approval as the world of Formula One's latest participant for the 2026 season. Constructing the squad from nothing has required a frenetic work rate that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo moon landing. As F1 converges on the Vegas strip this race weekend, the team understand time is getting tight.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the season finale of the season to be staged in the US, with around a hundred days to go before they make their debut for the maiden outing in Australia at the first race of 2026, Cadillac have made significant progress but, in what must seem like a never-ending endeavor, they are conscious there will not be enough hours in the day.
The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, joined the nascent team in early 2023 not long after it was created, when the organization were without even an official entry. He has been at its core since then and has a amused expression when reflecting on the journey.
“There might be a brief moment thinking back at what the team has achieved and say: ‘Incredible, isn’t this fantastic what we’ve done in under three years,’” he says. “Then the very next instant you realize: ‘Well, we’ve still got a great deal to do.’”
A One-of-a-Kind Opportunity
Nick Chester enjoyed success at the Renault team in the driver Fernando Alonso's victorious seasons of 2005 and 2006 and was in charge of technical direction at the new Mercedes Formula E team, but nothing has been quite like the mission of launching the iconic American Cadillac name, a manufacturer-backed entry backed by the owner, General Motors, into Formula One.
“Creating an grand prix team from the ground up, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he says. “It is like nothing else. In an established team you rarely get the chance to alter team culture.”
With each passing day that passes minds are sharper on the impending critical moment in Australia and expectations are being managed.
“It's reasonable to expect that a brand-new squad entering the sport is going to be last but merely participating will be an achievement in itself,” Graeme Lowdon stated earlier this year and while Chester agreed with this sentiment he believed the organization had a statement to make as well.
“The first thing we aim to demonstrate is that we belong on the grid,” he says. “So that we show up and we function efficiently. We seek to prove that we are a serious contender doing the correct procedures on the track. Once we have demonstrated that we’re really credible, then we aim to demonstrate progression from there on.”
Racing Talent and Recruitment Push
In late summer they signed Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas as their racers for 2026, a duo remarkable for their priceless expertise in performing at the front in two championship-winning squads, the Red Bull team and Mercedes-AMG, and Bottas expressed the mood of determined optimism.
“Of course, we are pragmatic,” Bottas stated. “There’s going to be a huge amount of work to do, and we expect almost certainly a difficult start, because it's the top level of motorsport. But we aren't joining to finish last. I believe with this structure, with this group, these people, there is every reason that we shouldn’t be able to get relatively quickly to a competitive level and taste victory.”
To achieve that goal recruitment has been in full swing, with employees now reaching in excess of 400 and planned to hit the objective of 600 quickly. Alongside their existing facility at the Silverstone circuit, the team are in the phase of building an HQ at Fishers in Indy and there is the GM works in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are developing the plant to build the power unit, planned for 2029 – until then they will run Ferrari engines – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany. It is a sophisticated organization, different from the trend in the sport for greater centralisation, and has led to the new cultural approach to which Chester alluded.
Space Mission Inspiration
“It's closely based on the Apollo program,” remarked Lowdon ahead of the Silverstone race in mid-season. “We’re realistic, we recognize how difficult it is. The deadlines, are incredibly tight. Alright, it's not a space expedition, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have embraced, as opposed to the usual hierarchical system, a flat management structure comparable to that of the space agency's, where there were a range of Apollo 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 supervisor, that supervisor talks to a manager in another department, it travels back down, it’s super slow,” says Chester. “So we empower team members to handle things directly. Eliminating management approval for each action is far more efficient and quicker.”
Upcoming Challenges
The efficacy of this nimble approach will be evaluated in the heat of competition next season and there is a significant degree on the line for the sport, too. Cadillac have signed as their reserve driver the young Californian Colton Herta
