Approximately one year in the past at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately granted the go-ahead as F1's latest entry for 2026. Building the squad from the ground up has entailed a frenetic pace of work that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the Apollo program. As Formula One descends on Las Vegas this weekend, Cadillac know time is getting tight.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the final race of the championship to be held in the United States, with just over three months to go before they make their debut for the first time in Australia at the first race of 2026, the Cadillac F1 project have made significant progress but, in what must seem like a never-ending endeavor, they are aware there will never be sufficient time.
The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, became part of the embryonic operation in early 2023 not long after it was created, when the team were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its core since then and enjoys a knowing grin when reflecting on the ride.
“You can have five minutes looking back at what you’ve done and say: ‘Wow, how impressive what the team has created in under three years,’” he says. “Then the very next instant you think: ‘Yeah, we still have a significant amount to do.’”
A Unique Challenge
The CTO had success at Renault in Alonso's victorious campaigns of 2005 and 2006 and was in command of technical development at the recently formed Mercedes electric racing team, but nothing has been quite like the challenge of bringing the quintessentially American Cadillac name, a manufacturer-backed entry supported by the parent company, General Motors Corporation, into Formula One.
“Creating an F1 team from scratch, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” he says. “It's unparalleled. In an established team you don’t get the chance to change organizational mindset.”
With every day that passes focus are more focused on the impending critical moment in the Australian GP and targets are being managed.
“One must presume that any new team 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 commented recently and while Nick Chester echoed this he believed the squad had a statement to make as well.
“The initial objective we aim to demonstrate is that we belong on the grid,” he emphasizes. “In order that we turn up and we perform competently. We want to show that we are a serious contender doing the proper actions on the track. When we’ve shown that we are a legitimate team, then we want to show forward movement after that.”
Driver Lineup and Hiring Drive
In the summer they signed Checo Pérez and Bottas as their racers for 2026, a pair remarkable for their priceless expertise in operating at the sharp end in two top-tier teams, the Red Bull team and Mercedes, and Valtteri Bottas reflected the attitude of determined optimism.
“Of course, we are pragmatic,” he said. “We face a mountain of work to do, and it’s going to be most likely a challenging beginning, because this is Formula One. But we’re not there to stay at the back. I believe with this structure, with this team, these people, there is every reason that we shouldn’t be able to progress rapidly up to the pace and enjoy some success.”
To that end staff acquisition has been in full swing, with employees now reaching more than 400 and intended to reach the goal of 600 swiftly. Alongside their existing facility at the UK base, the organization are in the midst of building an headquarters at Fishers, Indiana in Indianapolis and there is the GM works in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are developing the plant to produce the 2029 engine, set for 2029 – for now they will run Ferrari power units – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne. It is a sophisticated organization, at odds with the movement in F1 for more centralization, and has prompted the new cultural approach to which Nick Chester alluded.
Space Mission Model
“It's closely based on the Apollo project,” stated Graeme Lowdon just before the British GP in July. “We have a clear-eyed view, we know how challenging it is. The schedules, are extremely compressed. Alright, we aren't launching a lunar mission, but it feels like it sometimes.”
So they have adopted, rather than the conventional chain of command, a non-hierarchical approach akin to that of NASA's, where there were a assortment of Apollo teams all working on distinct elements of the program in a multiple sites.
“When you must follow a protocol where someone has a problem and they escalate it to their supervisor, that leader talks to a manager at a different location, it travels back down, the process is very slow,” explains Chester. “So we empower people to take charge. Eliminating managerial sign-off for all decisions is much smoother and more rapid.”
Upcoming Challenges
The effectiveness of this agile methodology will be evaluated in the heat of competition next season and there is a considerable amount on the line for F1, too. Cadillac have recruited as their test driver the young American Colton Herta
