Approximately one year previously at the Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately granted the green light as F1's latest participant for 2026. Constructing the squad from scratch has required a hectic work rate that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo moon landing. As F1 converges on the Vegas strip this weekend, Cadillac are aware the clock is ticking.
The Countdown to Australia
At the season finale of the championship to be held in the US, with approximately 100 days to go before they take to the track for the first time in Melbourne at the 2026 season opener, the Cadillac F1 project have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a monumental endeavor, they are cognizant there will not be sufficient time.
The technical director, Nick Chester, joined the newly formed team in early 2023 not long after it was established, when the team were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its heart since then and has a wry smile when thinking about the journey.
“There might be five minutes thinking back at what you’ve done and go: ‘Incredible, what an achievement what we have built in less than three years,’” he says. “Then the next minute you realize: ‘Yeah, we still have quite a lot to do.’”
A Unique Challenge
The CTO had success at Renault in Alonso's championship-winning campaigns of 2005 and 2006 and was in control of technical development at the then-new Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but nothing has been quite like the mission of bringing the all-American Cadillac marque, a factory team backed by the parent company, General Motors, into Formula One.
“Establishing an F1 team from the ground up, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” he says. “It's unparalleled. In an existing team you rarely get the opportunity to change team culture.”
With each day that elapses minds are more focused on the impending decisive point in Melbourne and targets are being set realistically.
“It's reasonable to expect that a brand-new squad coming in is probably going to finish last but merely participating will be an feat in itself,” the team principal commented earlier this year and while the CTO agreed with this sentiment he felt the organization had a reputation to build as well.
“The initial objective we intend to prove is that we deserve to be there,” Chester explains. “So that we show up and we operate well. We seek to prove that we are a serious contender performing the proper actions on the race track. Once we have demonstrated that we’re really credible, then we want to show improvement after that.”
Driver Lineup and Team Building Effort
In late summer they signed Checo Pérez and Bottas as their drivers for 2026, a duo remarkable for their vast knowledge in performing at the leading positions in two top-tier teams, Red Bull and the Mercedes team, and Valtteri Bottas echoed the mood of combative optimism.
“Certainly, we have a realistic outlook,” he said. “There’s going to be a huge amount of work to do, and we expect probably a difficult start, because this is Formula One. But our goal isn't to stay at the back. I believe with this setup, with this group, these personnel, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to get relatively quickly up to the pace and achieve good results.”
To that end hiring has been in top gear, with staff now reaching over 400 and scheduled to attain the goal of 600 members rapidly. Alongside their present headquarters at the UK base, the squad are in the phase of building an main base at Fishers in the Indianapolis area and there is the General Motors facility in North Carolina, where they are constructing the plant to manufacture the new engine, set for 2029 – for now they will operate with Ferrari engines – and the aerodynamic facility in Germany. It is a intricate organisation, contrary to the movement in F1 for greater centralisation, and has inspired the fresh organizational mindset to which Chester alluded.
Apollo Model
“We've drawn heavily from the Apollo project,” said the team principal just before the British Grand Prix in mid-season. “We have a clear-eyed view, we recognize how difficult it is. The schedules, are incredibly tight. Alright, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but it can seem that way.”
So they have embraced, rather than the traditional management structure, a decentralized management comparable to that of NASA's, where there were a variety of specialist groups all tackling different aspects of the mission across a multiple sites.
“When you must follow a process where an issue arises and they report it to their supervisor, that manager talks to a manager at a different location, it is relayed back, the process is very slow,” explains the CTO. “Therefore we enable staff to handle things directly. Avoiding hierarchical consent for each action is far more efficient and more rapid.”
Upcoming Challenges
The success of this nimble methodology will be tested in the intensity of Grand Prix when the season begins and there is a considerable amount on the line for Formula One, too. Cadillac have signed as their reserve driver the emerging Californian Colton Herta
