Approximately one year ago at the Vegas Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were finally granted the green light as Formula One’s latest entrant for the 2026 season. Constructing the team from nothing has involved a frenetic pace of work that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo moon landing. As the sport descends on Vegas this race weekend, Cadillac are aware the clock is ticking.
The Tight Timeline to Melbourne
At the last event of the season to be staged in the US, with around a hundred days to go before they take to the track for the first time in Australia at the 2026 opener, Cadillac have made significant progress but, in what must seem like a never-ending endeavor, they are aware there will not be adequate time.
The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, came aboard the embryonic team in March 2023 not long after it was established, when the squad were without even an approved entry. He has been at its heart ever since and has a wry smile when thinking about the journey.
“You might get a brief moment looking back at what you’ve done and say: ‘Wow, what an achievement what we have built in less than three years,’” Chester states. “But then the very next instant you think: ‘Yes, there is still a great deal to do.’”
A Unique Task
Chester achieved victories at the Renault team in Alonso's victorious campaigns of 2005/2006 and was in command of engineering strategy at the then-new Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but no previous experience has truly matched the task of introducing the iconic American Cadillac name, a factory team supported by the parent company, General Motors, into Formula One.
“Creating an F1 team from nothing, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he says. “There's nothing comparable. In an well-set team you rarely get the possibility to change organizational mindset.”
With each day that elapses minds are sharper on the looming decisive point in Australia and targets are being managed.
“One must presume that a brand-new squad coming in is going to be last but merely participating will be an achievement in itself,” the team principal commented recently and while Chester echoed this he thought the squad had a point to prove as well.
“The first thing we intend to prove is that we should be there,” he emphasizes. “In order that we turn up and we perform competently. We aim to demonstrate that we are a serious contender executing the right things on the track. When we have demonstrated that we’re really credible, then we aim to demonstrate progression after that.”
Racing Talent and Team Building Push
In late summer they contracted Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas as their drivers for 2026, a tandem notable for their vast knowledge in operating at the sharp end in two of the sport’s biggest teams, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes, and the Finnish driver reflected the attitude of fighting spirit.
“Certainly, we’re realistic,” he commented. “We face a mountain of work to do, and we expect most likely a tough opening, because it is F1. But we’re not there to stay at the back. I believe given this organization, with these individuals, this staff, it's entirely possible we won't be able to advance swiftly to a competitive level and taste victory.”
To achieve that goal staff acquisition has been in top gear, with staff now up to over 400 and planned to attain the target of 600 members swiftly. In addition to their present headquarters at the Silverstone circuit, the organization are in the midst of building an main base at Fishers, Indiana in Indianapolis and there is the GM works in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are building the facility to build the power unit, set for the 2029 season – in the meantime they will use Ferrari power units – and the aerodynamic facility in Germany. It is a complex structure, different from the trend in F1 for greater centralisation, and has inspired the innovative team culture to which the CTO referred.
Apollo Inspiration
“We've drawn heavily from the Apollo program,” said Lowdon ahead of the British GP in mid-season. “We are pragmatic, we know how difficult it is. The schedules, are incredibly tight. Alright, we aren't launching a lunar mission, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have implemented, as opposed to the conventional chain of command, a flat management structure comparable to that of Nasa’s, where there were a variety of specialist groups all tackling different aspects of the mission in a different facilities.
“When you must follow a procedure where an issue arises and they escalate it to their manager, that supervisor consults a leader at a different location, it goes back down the chain, it becomes inefficient,” explains Chester. “Therefore we enable team members to take charge. Avoiding management approval for each action is much smoother and more rapid.”
The Future
The success of this agile strategy will be tested in the pressure of racing next season and there is a considerable amount on the line for the sport, too. Cadillac have taken on as their test driver the young Californian Colton Herta
