Approximately twelve months previously at the Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were finally awarded the official approval as the world of Formula One's most recent participant for the 2026 season. Constructing the team from nothing has entailed a frenetic pace of work that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the Apollo program. As the sport arrives on Vegas this race weekend, Cadillac understand the clock is ticking.
The Countdown to Australia
At the last event of the season to be held in the US, with around three months to go before they make their debut for the inaugural time in Australia at the first race of 2026, Cadillac have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a sisyphean challenge, they are aware there will not be sufficient time.
The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, joined the newly formed team in March 2023 shortly after it was formed, when the team were without even an approved entry. He has been at its heart ever since and enjoys a wry smile when reflecting on the journey.
“There might be a short period thinking back at what you have accomplished and go: ‘Amazing, what an achievement what we have built in under three years,’” he says. “Then the following moment you consider: ‘Well, there is still a significant amount to do.’”
A One-of-a-Kind Challenge
Nick Chester had success at the Renault team in the driver Fernando Alonso's victorious campaigns of 2005 and 2006 and was in charge of technical direction at the new Mercedes electric racing team, but nothing has been quite like the task of introducing the quintessentially American Cadillac name, a works entry sponsored by the corporate entity, General Motors, into F1.
“Creating an Formula One team from the ground up, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he observes. “There's nothing comparable. In an existing team you don’t get the chance to transform organizational mindset.”
With every day that elapses thoughts are sharper on the impending moment of truth in Melbourne and goals are being set realistically.
“One must presume that any incoming team entering the sport is probably going to finish last but merely participating will be an feat in itself,” the team principal noted this year and while the CTO echoed this he believed the squad had a point to prove as well.
“The initial objective we aim to demonstrate is that we should be there,” he says. “In order that we arrive and we perform competently. We aim to demonstrate that this is a professional operation performing the right things on the circuit. After we prove that we’re really credible, then we want to show forward movement subsequently.”
Pilot Selection and Hiring Effort
In late summer they recruited Checo Pérez and Valtteri Bottas as their racers for 2026, a duo distinguished for their vast knowledge in operating at the leading positions in two championship-winning squads, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes, and Valtteri Bottas reflected the mood of combative optimism.
“Certainly, we are pragmatic,” Bottas stated. “There’s going to be a massive task to do, and it’s going to be most likely a difficult start, because it is F1. But our goal isn't to remain at the rear. I believe given this organization, with these individuals, these personnel, there is every reason that we won't be able to progress rapidly to the front and taste victory.”
To realize that ambition recruitment has been in overdrive, with staff now reaching in excess of 400 and scheduled to attain the objective of 600 swiftly. In addition to their present headquarters at the Silverstone circuit, the team are in the phase of completing an headquarters at Fishers in Indy and there is the GM plant in Charlotte, where they are constructing the center to produce the 2029 engine, set for 2029 – for now they will operate with Ferrari power units – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany. It is a complex structure, contrary to the direction in F1 for greater centralisation, and has prompted the new cultural approach to which the CTO alluded.
Apollo Blueprint
“It's closely based on the Apollo project,” remarked the team principal just before the British Grand Prix in the summer. “We’re realistic, we understand how challenging it is. The deadlines, are incredibly tight. OK, it's not a space expedition, but it can seem that way.”
So they have implemented, rather than the conventional chain of command, a flat management structure akin to that of Nasa’s, where there were a range of project teams all working on various components of the program at a different facilities.
“When you must follow a procedure where an issue arises and they raise it up to their manager, that manager communicates with a manager somewhere else, it travels back down, it becomes inefficient,” explains Chester. “We give authority to team members to take charge. Eliminating management approval for each action is far more efficient and quicker.”
Upcoming Challenges
The success of this nimble strategy will be proven in the heat of competition when the season begins and there is a significant degree at stake for the sport, too. The Cadillac team have recruited as their development driver the young American Colton Herta
