Approximately one year ago at the Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were finally given the official approval as F1's most recent participant for 2026. Establishing the team from nothing has entailed a intense work rate that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the Apollo program. As Formula One converges on Vegas this weekend, Cadillac are aware the deadline is approaching.
The Race Against Time to Melbourne
At the season finale of the campaign to be staged in the US, with approximately 100 days to go before they make their debut for the inaugural time in Melbourne at the 2026 season opener, the Cadillac F1 project have made significant progress but, in what must seem like a monumental endeavor, they are aware there will never be adequate time.
The technical director, Nick Chester, joined the nascent team in March 2023 soon after it was formed, when the organization were without even an official entry. He has been at its core since then and enjoys a knowing grin when thinking about the experience.
“You might get a brief moment reflecting at what you have accomplished and say: ‘Wow, what an achievement what the team has created in a short three-year period,’” Chester states. “And then the following moment you realize: ‘Yeah, we’ve still got a significant amount to do.’”
A Unique Task
The CTO enjoyed success at Renault in Fernando Alonso’s title-winning seasons of the mid-2000s and was in charge of technical development at the new Mercedes electric racing team, but no other project has been quite like the challenge of introducing the quintessentially American Cadillac name, a factory team sponsored by the parent company, General Motors Corporation, into F1.
“Building an F1 team from nothing, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” he observes. “It is like nothing else. In an existing team you don’t get the chance to transform cultural approach.”
With each day that elapses thoughts are sharper on the approaching moment of truth in the Australian GP and goals are being managed.
“You have to assume that any incoming team coming in is going to be last but just making it to the starting line will be an achievement in itself,” Lowdon commented this year and while Nick Chester agreed with this sentiment he believed the organization had a statement to make as well.
“Our primary goal we want to show is that we deserve to be there,” Chester explains. “In order that we arrive and we function efficiently. We seek to prove that we’re a proper team doing the proper actions on the circuit. After we prove that our credentials are solid, then we aim to demonstrate improvement subsequently.”
Driver Lineup and Hiring Drive
In late summer they recruited Sergio Pérez and Bottas as their drivers for the 2026 season, a duo notable for their priceless expertise in competing at the leading positions in two top-tier teams, Red Bull and Mercedes, and the Finnish driver reflected the sentiment of combative optimism.
“Of course, we have a realistic outlook,” he said. “There’s going to be a mountain of work to do, and we expect almost certainly a tough opening, because it is F1. But our goal isn't to remain at the rear. In my view with this setup, with this team, these personnel, there’s no reason why we won't be able to progress rapidly to the front and enjoy some success.”
To that end recruitment has been in overdrive, with personnel now at over 400 and intended to hit the goal of six hundred swiftly. Complementing their existing facility at the UK base, the team are in the process of completing an HQ at the Fishers location in the Indianapolis area and there is the General Motors facility in North Carolina, where they are developing the plant to manufacture the power unit, planned for the 2029 season – until then they will operate with power from Ferrari – and the aerodynamic facility in Cologne, Germany. It is a complex structure, contrary to the direction in Formula One for more centralization, and has inspired the innovative team culture to which the CTO referred to.
Apollo Inspiration
“It’s highly modelled on the Apollo project,” remarked Graeme Lowdon shortly before the British GP in mid-season. “We are pragmatic, we recognize how challenging it is. The deadlines, are incredibly tight. OK, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but it feels like it sometimes.”
So they have implemented, instead of the conventional chain of command, a flat management structure comparable to that of the space agency's, where there were a variety of specialist groups all tackling different aspects of the program in a variety of locations.
“If you have to go through a procedure where a challenge emerges and they report it to their team leader, that supervisor consults a supervisor at a different location, it travels back down, it becomes inefficient,” notes Nick Chester. “So we empower people to really get on with it. Avoiding managerial sign-off for everything is so much cleaner and more rapid.”
What Lies Ahead
The success of this flexible strategy will be proven in the heat of competition when the season begins and there is no little amount at stake for the sport, too. The Cadillac team have signed as their reserve driver the young Californian Colton Herta
