A little more than twelve months ago at the Nevada Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were ultimately granted the green light as the world of Formula One's newest participant for 2026. Establishing the squad from nothing has involved a frenetic work rate that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the NASA lunar mission. As F1 arrives on Las Vegas this race weekend, the team know the deadline is approaching.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the final race of the season to be hosted in the United States, with just over three months to go before they make their debut for the first time in Australia at the 2026 opener, Cadillac have made significant progress but, in what must seem like a sisyphean endeavor, they are aware there will not be enough hours in the day.
The CTO, Nick Chester, joined the nascent project in the spring of 2023 not long after it was formed, when the squad were without even an approved entry. He has been at its core since then and gets a amused expression when reflecting on the ride.
“You might get a short period looking back at what you’ve done and say: ‘Wow, isn’t this fantastic what the team has created in a short three-year period,’” he says. “And then the following moment you consider: ‘Yeah, there is still quite a lot to do.’”
A Unique Opportunity
The CTO had success at the Renault team in the driver Fernando Alonso's title-winning seasons of 2005 and 2006 and was in control of technical development at the then-new Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but nothing has been quite like the mission of launching the iconic American Cadillac brand, a works entry backed by the corporate entity, General Motors Corporation, into F1.
“Establishing an grand prix team from nothing, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” he observes. “There's nothing comparable. In an established team you won't have the chance to change organizational mindset.”
With each passing day that passes minds are sharper on the looming moment of truth in Australia and goals are being set realistically.
“It's reasonable to expect that a brand-new squad coming in is likely to start at the back but just making it to the starting line will be an achievement in itself,” the team principal commented this year and while the CTO echoed this he believed the organization had a reputation to build as well.
“The initial objective we aim to demonstrate is that we deserve to be there,” he emphasizes. “In order that we arrive and we perform competently. We aim to demonstrate that we’re a proper team performing the right things on the circuit. Once we have demonstrated that we are a legitimate team, then we want to show progression subsequently.”
Driver Lineup and Team Building Drive
In late summer they signed Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas as their drivers for 2026, a pair distinguished for their vast knowledge in competing at the front in two of the sport’s biggest teams, Red Bull and the Mercedes team, and Bottas echoed the mood of determined optimism.
“Naturally, we’re realistic,” he said. “There’s going to be a mountain of work to do, and it’s going to be probably a tough opening, because this is Formula One. But we aren't joining to finish last. In my view with this structure, with these individuals, these personnel, it's entirely possible we shouldn’t be able to progress rapidly to the front and taste victory.”
To realize that ambition recruitment has been in overdrive, with personnel now reaching over 400 and intended to hit the goal of 600 members swiftly. Complementing their present headquarters at the UK base, the team are in the process of finishing an main base at the Fishers location in Indy and there is the GM plant in Charlotte, where they are building the plant to produce the 2029 engine, planned for the 2029 season – until then they will run power from Ferrari – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Germany. It is a complex organization, contrary to the trend in Formula One for greater centralisation, and has prompted the innovative team culture to which Chester referred to.
Space Mission Model
“We've drawn heavily from the Apollo project,” remarked Lowdon just before the British Grand Prix in mid-season. “We’re realistic, we understand how challenging it is. The schedules, 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, rather than the conventional chain of command, a non-hierarchical approach akin to that of NASA's, where there were a variety of project teams all tackling distinct elements of the mission across a different facilities.
“In a system where you follow a procedure where someone has a problem and they raise it up to their manager, that manager consults a leader somewhere else, it goes back down the chain, the process is very slow,” explains the CTO. “Therefore we enable people to take charge. Moving away from management approval for all decisions is so much cleaner and quicker.”
The Future
The success of this agile strategy will be tested in the pressure of racing next season and there is no little amount on the line for Formula One, too. The Cadillac team have taken on as their reserve driver the young American Colton Herta
