Approximately twelve months ago at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were at last granted the go-ahead as the world of Formula One's newest participant for 2026. Building the organization from scratch has required a hectic pace of work that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the NASA lunar mission. As Formula One converges on Vegas this weekend, Cadillac are aware time is getting tight.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the season finale of the championship to be held in the US, with around three months to go before they hit the circuit for the maiden outing in Melbourne at the 2026 opener, the Cadillac F1 project have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a monumental challenge, they are conscious there will not be enough hours in the day.
The CTO, Nick Chester, became part of the nascent team in the spring of 2023 soon after it was established, when the team were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its heart ever since and enjoys a wry smile when thinking about the ride.
“You might get five minutes thinking back at what the team has achieved and say: ‘Wow, isn’t this fantastic what we have built in a short three-year period,’” he notes. “But then the next minute you think: ‘Yes, there is still a great deal to do.’”
A Unique Challenge
The CTO enjoyed success at the Renault team in Alonso's victorious seasons of 2005 and 2006 and was in command of technical development 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 supported by the parent company, General Motors Corporation, into Formula One.
“Building an Formula One team from scratch, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” he observes. “There's nothing comparable. In an established team you don’t get the possibility to transform organizational mindset.”
With each day that passes thoughts are sharper on the approaching decisive point in Australia and targets are being handled.
“It's reasonable to expect that a brand-new squad coming in is probably going to finish last but merely participating will be an accomplishment in itself,” the team principal commented recently and while the CTO echoed this he believed the squad had a statement to make as well.
“The initial objective we want to show is that we belong on the grid,” he says. “In order that we show up and we perform competently. We seek to prove that we are a serious contender doing the right things on the circuit. Once we’ve shown that we are a legitimate team, then we aim to demonstrate forward movement from there on.”
Pilot Selection and Hiring Effort
In August they signed Sergio Perez and Bottas as their drivers for 2026, a duo remarkable for their invaluable experience in competing at the sharp end in two championship-winning squads, Red Bull and the Mercedes team, and Bottas reflected the mood of fighting spirit.
“Naturally, we’re realistic,” he said. “We have a huge amount of work to do, and it will likely be most likely a tough opening, because it is F1. But we aren't joining to stay at the back. I am confident given this organization, with this group, these personnel, there is every reason that we shouldn’t be able to advance swiftly to a competitive level and achieve good results.”
To realize that ambition hiring has been in overdrive, with personnel now reaching over 400 and intended to hit the objective of 600 swiftly. In addition to their current base at the UK base, the team are in the midst of completing an HQ at Fishers, Indiana in the Indianapolis area and there is the GM plant in Charlotte, where they are constructing the facility to produce the power unit, planned for the 2029 season – for now they will operate with Ferrari engines – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Germany. It is a sophisticated organization, different from the movement in F1 for greater centralisation, and has inspired the new cultural approach to which Chester referred.
Apollo Model
“It's closely based on the Apollo project,” stated the team principal ahead of the Silverstone race in July. “We have a clear-eyed view, we recognize how challenging it is. The schedules, are extremely compressed. OK, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have embraced, rather than the traditional management structure, a non-hierarchical approach akin to that of Nasa’s, where there were a variety of Apollo teams all working on distinct elements of the mission at a variety of locations.
“If you have to go through a protocol where an issue arises and they report it to their team leader, that manager consults a supervisor somewhere else, it travels back down, it becomes inefficient,” notes Nick Chester. “So we empower staff to handle things directly. Eliminating managerial sign-off for each action is much smoother and quicker.”
Upcoming Challenges
The success of this nimble strategy will be evaluated in the intensity of Grand Prix in 2026 and there is a significant degree on the line for Formula One, too. Cadillac have taken on as their reserve driver the 25-year-old American Colton Herta
