Just over a full year in the past at the Nevada Grand Prix, Cadillac were at last awarded the go-ahead as Formula One’s most recent entrant for 2026. Establishing the team from scratch has entailed a frenetic work rate that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the Apollo program. As the sport converges on the Vegas strip this race weekend, Cadillac understand the clock is ticking.
The Countdown to Australia
At the season finale of the campaign to be staged in the United States, with around 100 days to go before they take to the track for the first time in Melbourne at the 2026 opener, Cadillac have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a sisyphean endeavor, they are aware there will never be adequate time.
The technical director, Nick Chester, became part of the nascent operation in early 2023 not long after it was created, when the team were without even an approved entry. He has been at its center since then and enjoys a knowing grin when thinking about the experience.
“You can have a brief moment thinking back at what you’ve done and think: ‘Wow, what an achievement what the team has created in under three years,’” Chester states. “Then the very next instant you think: ‘Well, we still have quite a lot to do.’”
A Unique Challenge
The CTO achieved victories at Renault in Fernando Alonso’s title-winning years of 2005/2006 and was in control of engineering strategy at the new Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but no other project has been quite like the mission of launching the iconic American Cadillac marque, a manufacturer-backed entry sponsored by the parent company, GM, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Building an grand prix team from nothing, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he observes. “It's unparalleled. In an well-set team you don’t get the chance to alter team culture.”
With every day that elapses minds are more focused on the looming moment of truth in Melbourne and expectations are being managed.
“It's reasonable to expect that a brand-new squad entering the sport is likely to start at the back but just making it to the starting line will be an accomplishment in itself,” Graeme Lowdon commented earlier this year and while the CTO agreed with this sentiment he thought the team had a reputation to build as well.
“The first thing we aim to demonstrate is that we belong on the grid,” Chester explains. “So we turn up and we operate well. We seek to prove that this is a professional operation doing the correct procedures on the race track. Once we’ve shown that we’re really credible, then we aim to demonstrate progression subsequently.”
Driver Lineup and Recruitment Push
In late summer they contracted Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas as their pilots for 2026, a duo remarkable for their vast knowledge in operating at the sharp end in two top-tier teams, the Red Bull team and Mercedes, and Valtteri Bottas expressed the attitude of fighting spirit.
“Of course, we’re realistic,” he said. “We face a massive task to do, and we expect almost certainly a challenging beginning, because it's the top level of motorsport. But our goal isn't to remain at the rear. I believe with this setup, with this group, this staff, there is every reason that we shouldn’t be able to advance swiftly to a competitive level and enjoy some success.”
To that end staff acquisition has been in overdrive, with personnel now at in excess of 400 and scheduled to hit the goal of six hundred quickly. Complementing their present headquarters at the Silverstone circuit, the squad are in the phase of completing an headquarters at Fishers in the Indianapolis area and there is the GM plant in Charlotte, where they are developing the plant to build the 2029 engine, scheduled for the 2029 season – until then they will operate with power from Ferrari – and the aerodynamic facility in Cologne, Germany. It is a sophisticated organization, different from the trend in F1 for increased consolidation, and has prompted the new cultural approach to which the CTO alluded.
NASA Inspiration
“We've drawn heavily from the Apollo program,” remarked Lowdon just before the Silverstone race in July. “We’re realistic, we recognize how challenging it is. The timelines, they’re super, super, super short. OK, it's not a space expedition, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have implemented, as opposed to the conventional chain of command, a decentralized management akin to that of NASA's, where there were a assortment of project teams all working on distinct elements of the project in a different facilities.
“If you have to go through a procedure where an issue arises and they raise it up to their team leader, that supervisor consults a supervisor in another department, it goes back down the chain, it’s super slow,” says Chester. “So we empower staff to really get on with it. Eliminating management approval for each action is much smoother and more rapid.”
What Lies Ahead
The efficacy of this flexible approach will be proven in the pressure of racing when the season begins and there is a significant degree on the line for Formula One, too. Cadillac have recruited as their reserve driver the 25-year-old American Colton Herta
