Just over one year previously at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were ultimately given the go-ahead as F1's most recent entrant for the 2026 season. Building the squad from nothing has entailed a frenetic work rate that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo program. As the sport converges on the Vegas strip this weekend, Cadillac know the clock is ticking.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the season finale of the championship to be staged in the United States, with approximately a hundred days to go before they hit the circuit for the maiden outing in Melbourne at the 2026 season opener, Cadillac have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a never-ending task, they are cognizant there will not be enough hours in the day.
The CTO, Nick Chester, came aboard the embryonic project in March 2023 shortly after it was created, when the organization were without even an official entry. He has been at its core ever since and has a amused expression when considering the journey.
“You can have a brief moment thinking back at what you’ve done and go: ‘Incredible, isn’t this fantastic what the team has created in under three years,’” he says. “And then the following moment you think: ‘Yes, we’ve still got a great deal to do.’”
A One-of-a-Kind Opportunity
Nick Chester achieved victories at the Renault team in Alonso's victorious years of 2005/2006 and was in command of engineering strategy at the recently formed Mercedes Formula E team, but no other project has truly matched the task of launching the all-American Cadillac marque, a works entry backed by the corporate entity, General Motors, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Creating an grand prix team from nothing, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” Chester remarks. “It's unparalleled. In an well-set team you don’t get the possibility to change cultural approach.”
With each passing day that elapses minds are sharper on the approaching moment of truth in the Australian GP and expectations are being set realistically.
“One must presume that any new team coming in is probably going to finish last but merely participating will be an feat in itself,” Graeme Lowdon noted earlier this year and while Chester echoed this he thought the squad had a statement to make as well.
“The first thing we want to show is that we should be there,” he says. “So that we arrive and we operate well. We seek to prove that we are a serious contender doing the right things on the race track. When we prove that we’re really credible, then we want to show forward movement subsequently.”
Driver Lineup and Team Building Drive
In August they signed Checo Pérez and Valtteri Bottas as their pilots for 2026, a tandem remarkable for their vast knowledge in performing at the sharp end in two of the sport’s biggest teams, the Red Bull team and Mercedes, and Valtteri Bottas echoed the attitude of combative optimism.
“Naturally, we’re realistic,” he said. “There’s going to be a mountain of work to do, and it’s going to be most likely a tough opening, because this is Formula One. But we’re not there to stay at the back. I am confident given this organization, with this group, these personnel, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to advance swiftly to a competitive level and enjoy some success.”
To that end staff acquisition has been in top gear, with personnel now up to in excess of 400 and intended to reach the target of 600 quickly. Alongside their present headquarters at the UK base, the team are in the phase of completing an HQ at Fishers in Indianapolis and there is the General Motors facility in Charlotte, where they are constructing the plant to manufacture the 2029 engine, scheduled for the 2029 season – in the meantime they will run Ferrari engines – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne. It is a complex organization, different from the direction in Formula One for more centralization, and has prompted the new cultural approach to which the CTO alluded.
Space Mission Model
“It's closely based on the Apollo program,” remarked the team principal just before the British GP in July. “We’re realistic, we understand how challenging it is. The schedules, are extremely compressed. Well, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have implemented, as opposed to the conventional chain of command, a non-hierarchical approach comparable to that of NASA's, where there were a variety of project teams all focusing on different aspects of the project at a variety of locations.
“In a system where you follow a protocol where an issue arises and they escalate it to their manager, that supervisor communicates with a supervisor somewhere else, it is relayed back, it’s super slow,” explains the CTO. “So we empower people to take charge. Moving away from management approval for everything is so much cleaner and more rapid.”
What Lies Ahead
The effectiveness of this nimble approach will be proven in the pressure of racing in 2026 and there is a considerable amount at stake for Formula One, too. The Cadillac team have recruited as their development driver the young American Colton Herta
