A little more than twelve months ago at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were at last given the go-ahead as F1's most recent participant for the 2026 season. Constructing the organization from nothing has involved a intense pace of work that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo program. As the sport converges on Vegas this weekend, Cadillac understand the clock is ticking.
The Tight Timeline to Melbourne
At the final race of the championship to be staged in the US, with around 100 days to go before they take to the track for the first time in Australia at the 2026 opener, the Cadillac F1 project have made significant progress but, in what must seem like a never-ending challenge, they are cognizant there will not be enough hours in the day.
The technical director, Nick Chester, came aboard the nascent team in early 2023 soon after it was established, when the squad were without even an approved entry. He has been at its core since then and has a wry smile when considering the experience.
“You can have five minutes reflecting at what you’ve done and go: ‘Incredible, isn’t this fantastic what we’ve done in less than three years,’” he says. “But then the very next instant you think: ‘Well, there is still a significant amount to do.’”
A Unique Challenge
The CTO had success at the Renault team in Fernando Alonso’s title-winning seasons of 2005 and 2006 and was in control of technical direction at the new Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but no previous experience has been quite like the task of bringing the quintessentially American Cadillac name, a works entry backed by the parent company, General Motors Corporation, into F1.
“Establishing an F1 team from scratch, when will you ever have the possibility to do that?” Chester remarks. “It is like nothing else. In an established team you won't have the possibility to change team culture.”
With every day that elapses focus are sharper on the looming decisive point in the Australian GP and targets are being set realistically.
“One must presume that any new team joining the grid is likely to start at the back but just making it to the starting line will be an achievement in itself,” Lowdon commented earlier this year and while Nick Chester shared this view he thought the squad had a statement to make as well.
“The initial objective we aim to demonstrate is that we deserve to be there,” he emphasizes. “So that we show up and we operate well. We seek to prove that we’re a proper team performing the right things on the circuit. Once we prove that our credentials are solid, then we will focus on improvement from there on.”
Driver Lineup and Hiring Push
In August they contracted Checo Pérez and Bottas as their drivers for 2026, a duo notable for their invaluable experience in performing at the sharp end in two top-tier teams, Red Bull and Mercedes-AMG, and Valtteri Bottas echoed the sentiment of determined optimism.
“Naturally, we are pragmatic,” he said. “We have a massive task to do, and it’s going to be almost certainly a challenging beginning, because it is F1. But our goal isn't to finish last. I believe given this organization, with this team, this staff, there’s no reason why we won't be able to advance swiftly up to the pace and taste victory.”
To that end recruitment has been in top gear, with employees now at more than 400 and scheduled to hit the target of six hundred swiftly. In addition to their existing facility at Silverstone, the team are in the process of finishing an HQ at Fishers in Indianapolis and there is the GM plant in Charlotte, where they are developing the facility to produce the new engine, scheduled for the 2029 season – until then they will run power from Ferrari – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne. It is a sophisticated organisation, different from the movement in F1 for increased consolidation, and has inspired the new cultural approach to which the CTO referred to.
Space Mission Blueprint
“It's closely based on the Apollo project,” said Lowdon shortly before the Silverstone race in July. “We’re realistic, we understand how challenging it is. The deadlines, are extremely compressed. Well, we aren't launching a lunar mission, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have adopted, rather than the traditional management structure, a flat management structure comparable to that of NASA's, where there were a variety of project teams all tackling different aspects of the project across a variety of locations.
“If you have to go through a procedure where a challenge emerges and they report it to their manager, that leader consults a leader in another department, it is relayed back, the process is very slow,” says the CTO. “We give authority to team members to really get on with it. Avoiding managerial sign-off for all decisions is much smoother and faster.”
What Lies Ahead
The effectiveness of this agile methodology will be tested in the pressure of racing in 2026 and there is no little amount at stake for F1, too. Cadillac have taken on as their development driver the 25-year-old American Colton Herta
