A little more than twelve months ago at the Nevada Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were at last granted the official approval as F1's newest entry for 2026. Constructing the squad from scratch has involved a frenetic operating tempo that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo moon landing. As Formula One converges on the Vegas strip this weekend, the team know the clock is ticking.
The Tight Timeline to Australia
At the last event of the campaign to be held in the America, with just over 100 days to go before they make their debut for the inaugural time in Australia at the first race of 2026, the Cadillac F1 project have made significant progress but, in what must seem like a never-ending endeavor, they are conscious there will not be sufficient time.
The technical director, Nick Chester, became part of the nascent team in March 2023 soon after it was established, when the organization were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its center ever since and enjoys a knowing grin when reflecting on the experience.
“You might get a brief moment reflecting at what the team has achieved and say: ‘Amazing, isn’t this fantastic what we’ve done in under three years,’” he notes. “But then the following moment you think: ‘Yeah, we’ve still got quite a lot to do.’”
A Unique Challenge
Chester enjoyed success at the Renault team in the driver Fernando Alonso's title-winning years of 2005 and 2006 and was in charge of engineering strategy at the new Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but nothing has been quite like the mission of launching the all-American Cadillac name, a factory team sponsored by the parent company, General Motors Corporation, into Formula One.
“Establishing an grand prix team from nothing, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” Chester remarks. “It is like nothing else. In an existing team you don’t get the possibility to transform cultural approach.”
With each day that goes by focus are more focused on the looming decisive point in the Australian GP and targets are being set realistically.
“One must presume that a brand-new squad coming in is going to be last but merely participating will be an achievement in itself,” Graeme Lowdon commented earlier this year and while the CTO shared this view he thought the squad had a reputation to build as well.
“The initial objective we want to show is that we deserve to be there,” he says. “In order that we turn up and we perform competently. We seek to prove that we are a serious contender performing the correct procedures on the track. Once we prove that our credentials are solid, then we want to show progression subsequently.”
Driver Lineup and Team Building Drive
In the summer they contracted Sergio Pérez and Valtteri as their pilots for 2026, a duo remarkable for their vast knowledge in performing at the sharp end in two top-tier teams, Red Bull Racing and the Mercedes team, and Bottas echoed the mood of combative optimism.
“Naturally, we’re realistic,” he said. “There’s going to be a mountain of work to do, and it will likely be probably a challenging beginning, because it is F1. But our goal isn't to finish last. I believe with this setup, with this group, these personnel, there is every reason that we won't be able to advance swiftly to a competitive level and enjoy some success.”
To realize that ambition recruitment has been in full swing, with personnel now up to more than 400 and scheduled to reach the target of 600 quickly. Alongside their current base at Silverstone, the squad are in the midst of building an headquarters at Fishers, Indiana in the Indianapolis area and there is the GM plant in Charlotte, where they are building the plant to produce the power unit, scheduled for 2029 – until then they will use Ferrari power units – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany. It is a intricate organization, contrary to the trend in Formula One for increased consolidation, and has prompted the fresh organizational mindset to which the CTO referred to.
Space Mission Blueprint
“It's closely based on the NASA moon mission,” stated the team principal just before the British GP in mid-season. “We are pragmatic, we understand how tough it is. The timelines, they’re super, super, super short. OK, we aren't launching a lunar mission, but it can seem that way.”
So they have embraced, as opposed to the conventional chain of command, a non-hierarchical approach similar to that of Nasa’s, where there were a range of specialist groups all tackling distinct elements of the program across a multiple sites.
“When you must follow a process where a challenge emerges and they raise it up to their team leader, that leader consults a manager in another department, it travels back down, it’s super slow,” explains Chester. “So we empower people to handle things directly. Moving away from hierarchical consent for each action is much smoother and quicker.”
The Future
The success of this nimble approach will be proven in the pressure of racing next season and there is a considerable amount at stake for Formula One, too. Cadillac have signed as their development driver the emerging American Colton Herta
