Just over one year in the past at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were finally given the official approval as F1's latest entrant for 2026. Establishing the team from the ground up has entailed a intense operating tempo that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo program. As F1 converges on Vegas this weekend, the team know the deadline is approaching.
The Tight Timeline to Melbourne
At the last event of the season to be held in the United States, with approximately 100 days to go before they make their debut for the maiden outing 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 sisyphean task, they are conscious there will never be sufficient time.
The technical director, Nick Chester, joined the newly formed project in March 2023 soon after it was established, when the squad were without even an approved entry. He has been at its heart since then and has a knowing grin when reflecting on the ride.
“You can have five minutes looking back at what you have accomplished and go: ‘Wow, how impressive what we’ve done in under three years,’” he notes. “But then the following moment you consider: ‘Yes, there is still a significant amount to do.’”
A Unique Task
The CTO achieved victories at the Renault team in Alonso's title-winning years of 2005/2006 and was in charge of technical development at the new Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but nothing has truly matched the mission of bringing the iconic American Cadillac marque, a manufacturer-backed entry supported by the corporate entity, General Motors, into F1.
“Creating an Formula One team from the ground up, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” he says. “There's nothing comparable. In an well-set team you rarely get the opportunity to alter organizational mindset.”
With each passing day that goes by thoughts are increasingly concentrated on the looming moment of truth in Melbourne and goals are being managed.
“One must presume that any incoming team joining the grid is probably going to finish last but simply getting on to the grid will be an achievement in itself,” the team principal commented earlier this year and while Chester agreed with this sentiment he felt the squad had a statement to make as well.
“The first thing we aim to demonstrate is that we should be there,” he emphasizes. “In order that we show up and we function efficiently. We aim to demonstrate that we’re a proper team executing the right things on the circuit. When we’ve shown that our credentials are solid, then we aim to demonstrate progression from there on.”
Pilot Selection and Hiring Effort
In late summer they recruited Sergio Perez and Valtteri as their drivers for 2026, a tandem distinguished for their vast knowledge in operating at the sharp end in two championship-winning squads, the Red Bull team and the Mercedes team, and the Finnish driver reflected the sentiment of fighting spirit.
“Certainly, we are pragmatic,” he commented. “We face a massive task to do, and it’s going to be probably a challenging beginning, because this is Formula One. But our goal isn't to remain at the rear. I am confident with this structure, with this group, this staff, there’s no reason why we can't manage to progress rapidly up to the pace and enjoy some success.”
To realize that ambition recruitment has been in overdrive, with employees now up to in excess of 400 and planned to attain the objective of 600 members quickly. In addition to their existing facility at Silverstone, the team are in the midst of finishing an HQ at the Fishers location in Indy and there is the General Motors facility in North Carolina, where they are developing the center to manufacture the power unit, planned for 2029 – until then they will operate with Ferrari engines – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne. It is a complex organisation, at odds with the direction in the sport for greater centralisation, and has inspired the new cultural approach to which Chester referred to.
NASA Inspiration
“It's closely based on the Apollo program,” stated Lowdon just before the British GP in July. “We have a clear-eyed view, we know how challenging it is. The schedules, are incredibly tight. Well, it's not a space expedition, but it feels like it sometimes.”
So they have embraced, instead of the traditional management structure, a non-hierarchical approach comparable to that of NASA's, where there were a range of specialist groups all tackling different aspects of the project at a variety of locations.
“When you must follow a procedure where someone has a problem and they report it to their manager, that supervisor consults a leader in another department, it travels back down, it becomes inefficient,” explains Chester. “Therefore we enable staff to handle things directly. Moving away from managerial sign-off for each action is so much cleaner and quicker.”
The Future
The effectiveness of this agile methodology will be tested in the intensity of Grand Prix in 2026 and there is no little amount on the line for F1, too. Cadillac have recruited as their reserve driver the 25-year-old American Colton Herta
