Just over a full year ago at the Nevada Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately awarded the go-ahead as the world of Formula One's newest entry for 2026. Constructing the squad from the ground up has required a hectic pace of work that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo program. As the sport arrives on Las Vegas this race weekend, the team understand time is getting tight.
The Race Against Time to Melbourne
At the last event of the championship to be staged in the America, with just over three months to go before they hit the circuit for the maiden outing in Australia at the first race of 2026, Cadillac have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a monumental task, they are conscious there will not be sufficient time.
The technical director, Nick Chester, came aboard the embryonic operation in the spring of 2023 not long after it was established, when the organization were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its heart from that point and gets a knowing grin when reflecting on the experience.
“There might be five minutes thinking back at what you have accomplished and think: ‘Incredible, isn’t this fantastic what we’ve done in a short three-year period,’” he says. “But then the very next instant you realize: ‘Yes, we’ve still got a great deal to do.’”
A One-of-a-Kind Task
Chester had success at Renault in Fernando Alonso’s victorious seasons of 2005/2006 and was in control of technical development at the then-new Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but no other project has truly matched the task of introducing the iconic American Cadillac name, a manufacturer-backed entry sponsored by the parent company, General Motors Corporation, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Creating an F1 team from scratch, when will you ever have the possibility to do that?” Chester remarks. “It is like nothing else. In an established team you won't have the possibility to change team culture.”
With each passing day that passes thoughts are sharper on the approaching moment of truth in Melbourne and expectations are being set realistically.
“It's reasonable to expect that any new team coming in is likely to start at the back but just making it to the starting line will be an accomplishment in itself,” the team principal commented recently and while Chester shared this view he felt the organization had a reputation to build as well.
“The initial objective we want to show is that we should be there,” he says. “So we arrive and we operate well. We aim to demonstrate that this is a professional operation doing the right things on the track. After we prove that we are a legitimate team, then we want to show progression subsequently.”
Pilot Selection and Hiring Push
In August they recruited Checo Pérez and Valtteri Bottas as their pilots for 2026, a duo remarkable for their priceless expertise in performing at the front in two top-tier teams, Red Bull and the Mercedes team, and Valtteri Bottas echoed the attitude of combative optimism.
“Naturally, we are pragmatic,” he commented. “There’s going to be a mountain of work to do, and it’s going to be most likely a tough opening, because it's the top level of motorsport. But we’re not there to stay at the back. I believe with this setup, with this group, these people, it's entirely possible we can't manage to get relatively quickly up to the pace and taste victory.”
To realize that ambition recruitment has been in top gear, with personnel now at over 400 and scheduled to attain the goal of 600 members quickly. In addition to their current base at the Silverstone circuit, the organization are in the phase of completing an HQ at Fishers, Indiana in the Indianapolis area and there is the GM works in North Carolina, where they are constructing the plant to build the 2029 engine, set for 2029 – for now they will operate with Ferrari power units – and the aerodynamic facility in Germany. It is a complex organisation, contrary to the direction in Formula One for more centralization, and has led to the innovative team culture to which Nick Chester alluded.
Space Mission Inspiration
“It’s highly modelled on the Apollo program,” stated Lowdon just before the British Grand Prix in July. “We’re realistic, we know how challenging it is. The timelines, they’re super, super, super short. OK, it's not a space expedition, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have implemented, rather than the traditional management structure, a decentralized management akin to that of NASA's, where there were a variety of Apollo teams all working on various components of the program across a different facilities.
“When you must follow a protocol where someone has a problem and they raise it up to their supervisor, that leader talks to a leader in another department, it travels back down, the process is very slow,” says Nick Chester. “So we empower people to handle things directly. Moving away from hierarchical consent for all decisions is much smoother and quicker.”
The Future
The success of this nimble approach will be proven in the pressure of racing in 2026 and there is a significant degree riding on this for the sport, too. The Cadillac team have taken on as their test driver the young Californian Colton Herta
