Approximately one year in the past at the Vegas Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were finally awarded the go-ahead as Formula One’s most recent entry for 2026. Establishing the team from nothing has involved a intense operating tempo that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the NASA lunar mission. As F1 converges on the Vegas strip this weekend, Cadillac are aware the clock is ticking.
The Race Against Time to Melbourne
At the final race of the campaign to be staged in the US, with just over a hundred days to go before they make their debut for the maiden outing in Melbourne at the first race of 2026, Cadillac have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a monumental endeavor, they are aware there will never be sufficient time.
The technical director, Nick Chester, became part of the nascent project in March 2023 soon after it was formed, when the team were without even an approved entry. He has been at its heart ever since and gets a knowing grin when considering the journey.
“You might get a brief moment looking back at what the team has achieved and say: ‘Amazing, how impressive what we’ve done in under three years,’” he says. “And then the very next instant you think: ‘Yeah, there is still a great deal to do.’”
A Unique Opportunity
Chester achieved victories at Renault in the driver Fernando Alonso's victorious seasons of 2005 and 2006 and was in command of technical development at the recently formed Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but no previous experience has been quite like the task of bringing the quintessentially American Cadillac name, a manufacturer-backed entry backed by the corporate entity, General Motors Corporation, into Formula One.
“Establishing an Formula One team from scratch, when will you ever have the possibility to do that?” he says. “There's nothing comparable. In an well-set team you rarely get the opportunity to change team culture.”
With each day that passes thoughts are increasingly concentrated on the impending moment of truth in Australia and goals are being set realistically.
“You have to assume that a brand-new squad entering the sport is likely to start at the back but just making it to the starting line will be an feat in itself,” Graeme Lowdon stated earlier this year and while Chester agreed with this sentiment he felt the organization had a reputation to build as well.
“The first thing we aim to demonstrate is that we deserve to be there,” he says. “So that we arrive and we operate well. We aim to demonstrate that we’re a proper team executing the proper actions on the race track. Once we’ve shown that we’re really credible, then we aim to demonstrate forward movement subsequently.”
Racing Talent and Recruitment Push
In August they signed Sergio Pérez and Bottas as their racers for 2026, a tandem distinguished for their invaluable experience in performing at the sharp end in two championship-winning squads, Red Bull and the Mercedes team, and Bottas echoed the attitude of fighting spirit.
“Certainly, we are pragmatic,” he said. “We have a mountain of work to do, and it’s going to be probably a challenging beginning, because it's the top level of motorsport. But we aren't joining to finish last. I am confident with this structure, with these individuals, these personnel, there is every reason that we won't be able to advance swiftly up to the pace and taste victory.”
To achieve that goal staff acquisition has been in top gear, with employees now up to in excess of 400 and intended to attain the goal of six hundred quickly. Alongside their existing facility at the Silverstone circuit, the organization are in the midst of finishing an headquarters at Fishers in Indianapolis and there is the GM plant in Charlotte, where they are constructing the plant to build the power unit, set for the 2029 season – until then they will operate with Ferrari power units – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne. It is a sophisticated organisation, at odds with the movement in the sport for increased consolidation, and has prompted the innovative team culture to which the CTO alluded.
Space Mission Inspiration
“It’s highly modelled on the Apollo project,” remarked the team principal shortly before the Silverstone race in mid-season. “We’re realistic, we recognize how tough it is. The schedules, they’re super, super, super short. OK, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have implemented, rather than the traditional management structure, a non-hierarchical approach comparable to that of Nasa’s, where there were a assortment of specialist groups all focusing on various components of the program at a multiple sites.
“When you must follow a process where someone has a problem and they escalate it to their supervisor, that manager consults a leader at a different location, it is relayed back, it becomes inefficient,” notes Nick Chester. “So we empower people to really get on with it. Moving away from managerial sign-off for each action is far more efficient and more rapid.”
What Lies Ahead
The success of this nimble approach will be tested in the heat of competition in 2026 and there is a significant degree at stake for Formula One, too. Cadillac have recruited as their test driver the 25-year-old Californian Colton Herta
