A little more than twelve months in the past at the Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were at last awarded the official approval as the world of Formula One's latest participant for 2026. Building the organization from nothing has involved a hectic work rate that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo moon landing. As the sport converges on Las Vegas this weekend, Cadillac are aware time is getting tight.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the last event of the season to be hosted in the United States, with approximately three months to go before they make their debut for the first time in Melbourne at the 2026 opener, the Cadillac F1 project have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a sisyphean task, they are conscious there will not be sufficient time.
The CTO, Nick Chester, came aboard the embryonic team in the spring of 2023 shortly after it was formed, when the squad were without even an approved entry. He has been at its center since then and has a knowing grin when reflecting on the experience.
“You can have a brief moment looking back at what you have accomplished and say: ‘Amazing, isn’t this fantastic what we have built in under three years,’” he says. “And then the following moment you think: ‘Yes, we still have a significant amount to do.’”
An Unprecedented Opportunity
Nick Chester achieved victories at the Renault team in Fernando Alonso’s championship-winning seasons of 2005/2006 and was in control of technical direction at the recently formed Mercedes electric racing team, but no other project has been quite like the task of bringing the quintessentially American Cadillac brand, a manufacturer-backed entry sponsored by the parent company, General Motors Corporation, into F1.
“Establishing an F1 team from nothing, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” Chester remarks. “It's unparalleled. In an existing team you don’t get the chance to change cultural approach.”
With each day that passes thoughts are more focused on the looming moment of truth in Australia and goals are being managed.
“It's reasonable to expect that any new team joining the grid is probably going to finish last but simply getting on to the grid will be an accomplishment in itself,” the team principal noted earlier this year and while Chester agreed with this sentiment he felt the team had a statement to make as well.
“The first thing we intend to prove is that we should be there,” he emphasizes. “So we arrive and we perform competently. We want to show that this is a professional operation executing the right things on the race track. After we have demonstrated that we’re really credible, then we will focus on improvement subsequently.”
Driver Lineup and Hiring Drive
In late summer they signed Sergio Pérez and Bottas as their drivers for 2026, a tandem remarkable for their vast knowledge in competing at the front in two championship-winning squads, Red Bull Racing and the Mercedes team, and Bottas reflected the sentiment of fighting spirit.
“Naturally, we’re realistic,” he said. “We have a mountain 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 stay at the back. In my view with this structure, with this team, these people, there is every reason that we won't be able to progress rapidly to the front and achieve good results.”
To that end recruitment has been in full swing, with employees now at in excess of 400 and intended to reach the objective of 600 rapidly. Alongside their present headquarters at the UK base, the team are in the phase of building an HQ at Fishers in Indy and there is the GM works in North Carolina, where they are building the facility to build the 2029 engine, scheduled for the 2029 season – in the meantime they will run Ferrari power units – and the aerodynamic facility in Germany. It is a complex organization, contrary to the movement in Formula One for greater centralisation, and has inspired the innovative team culture to which Chester alluded.
Apollo Inspiration
“It's closely based on the Apollo project,” remarked Graeme Lowdon just before the British GP in mid-season. “We have a clear-eyed view, we know how difficult it is. The schedules, are incredibly tight. OK, it's not a space expedition, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have embraced, rather than the usual hierarchical system, a non-hierarchical approach akin to that of Nasa’s, where there were a range of project teams all working on various components of the program in a variety of locations.
“In a system where you follow a procedure where a challenge emerges and they raise it up to their manager, that leader consults a supervisor in another department, it is relayed back, it’s super slow,” says Chester. “So we empower staff to handle things directly. Eliminating hierarchical consent for each action is so much cleaner and more rapid.”
What Lies Ahead
The effectiveness of this agile methodology will be evaluated in the intensity of Grand Prix next season and there is a significant degree at stake for the sport, too. Cadillac have signed as their test driver the 25-year-old American Colton Herta
