Just over one year previously at the Nevada Grand Prix, Cadillac were at last awarded the green light as Formula One’s newest entrant for the 2026 season. Constructing the squad from scratch has involved a intense pace of work that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo moon landing. As the sport converges on Vegas this race weekend, the team know the clock is ticking.
The Tight Timeline to Melbourne
At the season finale of the season to be staged in the America, with around 100 days to go before they hit the circuit for the inaugural time in Melbourne at the 2026 season opener, the Cadillac F1 project have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a never-ending task, they are conscious there will never be sufficient time.
The CTO, Nick Chester, became part of the nascent operation in March 2023 shortly after it was formed, when the organization were without even an approved entry. He has been at its core from that point and has a amused expression when thinking about the journey.
“You might get a short period reflecting at what you have accomplished and go: ‘Amazing, how impressive what the team has created in under three years,’” he notes. “Then the next minute you consider: ‘Yes, there is still a significant amount to do.’”
An Unprecedented Opportunity
The CTO achieved victories at the Renault team in Alonso's championship-winning years of the mid-2000s and was in control of engineering strategy at the then-new Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but nothing has been quite like the challenge of bringing the all-American Cadillac name, a manufacturer-backed entry sponsored by the parent company, General Motors, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Creating an F1 team from scratch, when will you ever have the possibility to do that?” he says. “It's unparalleled. In an established team you won't have the possibility to transform cultural approach.”
With each passing day that elapses focus are more focused on the looming decisive point in the Australian GP and expectations are being managed.
“It's reasonable to expect that any incoming team coming in is going to be last but just making it to the starting line will be an accomplishment in itself,” the team principal stated recently and while Nick Chester agreed with this sentiment he felt the squad had a statement to make as well.
“The initial objective we aim to demonstrate is that we should be there,” Chester explains. “So that we show up and we perform competently. We want to show that we are a serious contender doing the correct procedures on the race track. Once we have demonstrated that our credentials are solid, then we will focus on improvement subsequently.”
Driver Lineup and Hiring Effort
In late summer they recruited Sergio Pérez and Bottas as their drivers for 2026, a pair remarkable for their invaluable experience in performing at the sharp end in two of the sport’s biggest teams, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes-AMG, and Bottas expressed the sentiment of fighting spirit.
“Of course, we are pragmatic,” he said. “There’s going to be a huge amount of work to do, and we expect probably a difficult start, because it's the top level of motorsport. But our goal isn't to remain at the rear. I believe given this organization, with this team, these personnel, there is every reason that we shouldn’t be able to advance swiftly to a competitive level and enjoy some success.”
To realize that ambition recruitment has been in overdrive, with employees now at more than 400 and intended to hit the target of six hundred rapidly. Alongside their present headquarters at Silverstone, the organization are in the process of completing an HQ at Fishers, Indiana in Indy and there is the General Motors facility in North Carolina, where they are building the plant to build the new engine, planned for 2029 – for now they will use Ferrari engines – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Germany. It is a intricate organization, different from the direction in the sport for increased consolidation, and has led to the innovative team culture to which the CTO alluded.
Apollo Inspiration
“It's closely based on the Apollo project,” said Graeme Lowdon just before the British GP in the summer. “We have a clear-eyed view, we understand how tough it is. The timelines, are incredibly tight. Alright, we aren't launching a lunar mission, but it feels like it sometimes.”
So they have implemented, rather than the conventional chain of command, a flat management structure akin to that of the space agency's, where there were a range of project teams all tackling various components of the project across a variety of locations.
“If you have to go through a procedure where an issue arises and they report it to their supervisor, that manager communicates with a leader at a different location, it is relayed back, it’s super slow,” notes Nick Chester. “We give authority to team members to really get on with it. Moving away from management approval for all decisions is so much cleaner and quicker.”
The Future
The efficacy of this flexible strategy will be proven in the heat of competition next season and there is a considerable amount riding on this for F1, too. Cadillac have recruited as their development driver the young Californian Colton Herta
