Approximately a full year previously at the Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were at last granted the green light as Formula One’s most recent participant for 2026. Building the squad from nothing has required a hectic pace of work that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo moon landing. As Formula One converges on the Vegas strip this weekend, the team understand time is getting tight.
The Race Against Time to Australia
At the season finale of the campaign to be held in the United States, with just over 100 days to go before they hit the circuit for the maiden outing in Australia at the 2026 season opener, Cadillac have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a monumental challenge, they are conscious there will not be sufficient time.
The CTO, Nick Chester, joined the embryonic team in early 2023 not long after it was formed, when the squad were without even an approved entry. He has been at its core since then and gets a amused expression when reflecting on the journey.
“You might get five minutes reflecting at what you have accomplished and go: ‘Wow, how impressive what we’ve done in under three years,’” Chester states. “Then the following moment you consider: ‘Yes, there is still a great deal to do.’”
An Unprecedented Opportunity
Chester enjoyed success at Renault in the driver Fernando Alonso's victorious seasons of 2005/2006 and was in charge of engineering strategy at the new Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but no other project has been quite like the task of bringing the quintessentially American Cadillac brand, a manufacturer-backed entry supported by the parent company, General Motors, into F1.
“Building an Formula One team from the ground up, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” he observes. “It is like nothing else. In an well-set team you don’t get the chance to change team culture.”
With each passing day that elapses thoughts are sharper on the looming decisive point in Melbourne and expectations are being set realistically.
“One must presume that any new team joining the grid is probably going to finish last but just making it to the starting line will be an accomplishment in itself,” Graeme Lowdon noted earlier this year and while Nick Chester agreed with this sentiment he felt the organization had a reputation to build as well.
“The initial objective we aim to demonstrate is that we deserve to be there,” he says. “So that we turn up and we operate well. We aim to demonstrate that we’re a proper team performing the proper actions on the circuit. When we’ve shown that we’re really credible, then we aim to demonstrate forward movement from there on.”
Driver Lineup and Recruitment Drive
In August they signed Sergio Pérez and Valtteri as their drivers for 2026, a duo distinguished for their vast knowledge in operating at the front in two championship-winning squads, the Red Bull team and Mercedes, and the Finnish driver echoed the sentiment of fighting spirit.
“Of course, we’re realistic,” he said. “There’s going to be a huge amount of work to do, and it’s going to be almost certainly a difficult start, because it's the top level of motorsport. But our goal isn't to stay at the back. I believe with this setup, with this team, these personnel, it's entirely possible we won't be able to advance swiftly to the front and achieve good results.”
To achieve that goal hiring has been in overdrive, with employees now reaching more than 400 and intended to reach the objective of 600 quickly. In addition to their existing facility at the Silverstone circuit, the squad are in the phase of building an headquarters at the Fishers location in the Indianapolis area and there is the General Motors facility in Charlotte, where they are developing the plant to manufacture the power unit, scheduled for the 2029 season – until then they will use Ferrari power units – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany. It is a sophisticated organization, different from the trend in F1 for more centralization, and has inspired the new cultural approach to which the CTO alluded.
NASA Model
“It’s highly modelled on the Apollo project,” remarked Lowdon shortly before the Silverstone race in mid-season. “We’re realistic, we know how difficult it is. The schedules, are extremely compressed. OK, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but it can seem that way.”
So they have adopted, rather than the usual hierarchical system, a non-hierarchical approach similar to that of the space agency's, where there were a range of specialist groups all tackling various components of the project at a variety of locations.
“When you must follow a process where a challenge emerges and they raise it up to their supervisor, that manager communicates with a leader in another department, it is relayed back, it’s super slow,” explains Nick Chester. “We give authority to people to handle things directly. Avoiding managerial sign-off for everything is far more efficient and faster.”
What Lies Ahead
The effectiveness of this nimble approach will be tested in the intensity of Grand Prix in 2026 and there is a considerable amount riding on this for the sport, too. Cadillac have recruited as their test driver the emerging Californian Colton Herta
