Approximately twelve months ago at the Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were finally given the official approval as Formula One’s latest entry for the 2026 season. Constructing the organization from nothing has entailed a intense operating tempo that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the Apollo moon landing. As the sport descends on the Vegas strip this weekend, Cadillac know the clock is ticking.
The Countdown to Australia
At the last event of the season to be staged in the America, with around three months to go before they make their debut for the first time in Australia at the first race of 2026, Cadillac have made significant progress but, in what must seem like a never-ending challenge, they are cognizant there will never be sufficient time.
The technical director, Nick Chester, joined the nascent operation in the spring of 2023 not long after it was established, when the squad were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its heart from that point and enjoys a knowing grin when considering the journey.
“You can have five minutes looking back at what the team has achieved and say: ‘Incredible, what an achievement what we have built in less than three years,’” he notes. “But then the next minute you consider: ‘Well, we still have a significant amount to do.’”
A One-of-a-Kind Opportunity
Nick Chester enjoyed success at the Renault team in Fernando Alonso’s title-winning seasons of the mid-2000s and was in control of technical direction at the recently formed Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but no previous experience has truly matched the task of launching the iconic American Cadillac marque, a works entry sponsored by the parent company, General Motors Corporation, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Establishing an grand prix team from scratch, when will you ever have the possibility to do that?” he observes. “It's unparalleled. In an well-set team you rarely get the possibility to change organizational mindset.”
With each passing day that goes by minds are more focused on the impending critical moment in Australia and goals are being set realistically.
“It's reasonable to expect that a brand-new squad entering the sport is going to be last but just making it to the starting line will be an achievement in itself,” Lowdon noted this year and while the CTO echoed this he thought the squad had a statement to make as well.
“The initial objective we intend to prove is that we should be there,” he emphasizes. “So that we turn up and we function efficiently. We aim to demonstrate that we are a serious contender executing the right things on the race track. Once we prove that we are a legitimate team, then we will focus on improvement subsequently.”
Pilot Selection and Recruitment Effort
In August they recruited Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas as their racers for 2026, a tandem distinguished for their priceless expertise in operating at the sharp end in two championship-winning squads, Red Bull and Mercedes-AMG, and Valtteri Bottas expressed the sentiment of fighting spirit.
“Naturally, we’re realistic,” he commented. “We face a massive task to do, and it will likely be most likely a difficult start, because it is F1. But our goal isn't to stay at the back. I believe with this structure, with these individuals, these personnel, it's entirely possible we won't be able to advance swiftly to a competitive level and taste victory.”
To that end hiring has been in full swing, with personnel now reaching over 400 and scheduled to attain the objective of 600 members quickly. In addition to their existing facility at Silverstone, the team are in the midst of building an main base at Fishers in Indianapolis and there is the GM works in North Carolina, where they are developing the facility to manufacture the new engine, scheduled for 2029 – until then they will use Ferrari power units – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Cologne. It is a complex structure, contrary to the direction in Formula One for more centralization, and has led to the fresh organizational mindset to which Chester referred.
Apollo Inspiration
“We've drawn heavily from the Apollo program,” remarked Graeme Lowdon ahead of the British GP in the summer. “We have a clear-eyed view, we know how difficult it is. The deadlines, they’re super, super, super short. Well, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but it can seem that way.”
So they have embraced, as opposed to the usual hierarchical system, a decentralized management similar to that of NASA's, where there were a variety of project teams all focusing on distinct elements of the program in a variety of locations.
“In a system where you follow a procedure where an issue arises and they raise it up to their team leader, 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 take charge. Avoiding managerial sign-off for everything is much smoother and faster.”
The Future
The success of this agile strategy will be tested in the intensity of Grand Prix next season and there is a significant degree at stake for Formula One, too. The Cadillac team have recruited as their test driver the emerging Californian Colton Herta
