A little more than a full year previously at the Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were at last awarded the go-ahead as F1's most recent entrant for the 2026 season. Constructing the organization from nothing has required a frenetic work rate that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo moon landing. As Formula One arrives on Vegas this race weekend, the team understand the deadline is approaching.
The Tight Timeline to Australia
At the final race of the championship to be staged in the America, with approximately 100 days to go before they hit the circuit for the first time in Australia at the first race of 2026, Cadillac have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a monumental challenge, they are cognizant there will not be enough hours in the day.
The CTO, Nick Chester, became part of the nascent operation in March 2023 not long after it was established, when the organization were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its heart since then and enjoys a amused expression when reflecting on the journey.
“You might get a brief moment looking back at what you have accomplished and think: ‘Wow, how impressive what we have built in under three years,’” he notes. “Then the very next instant you realize: ‘Yes, there is still quite a lot to do.’”
A Unique Challenge
The CTO had success at the Renault team in the driver Fernando Alonso's victorious seasons of the mid-2000s and was in control of technical direction at the recently formed Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but nothing has been quite like the mission of launching the all-American Cadillac marque, a works entry supported by the parent company, GM, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Establishing an F1 team from nothing, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” he says. “There's nothing comparable. In an well-set team you don’t get the possibility to change team culture.”
With every day that goes by focus are sharper on the approaching critical moment in the Australian GP and goals are being managed.
“It's reasonable to expect that any incoming team coming in is likely to start at the back but simply getting on to the grid will be an achievement in itself,” the team principal commented this year and while Chester shared this view he believed the organization had a reputation to build as well.
“The initial objective we intend to prove is that we deserve to be there,” he emphasizes. “So that we arrive and we operate well. We seek to prove that we’re a proper team performing the proper actions on the track. After we prove that our credentials are solid, then we aim to demonstrate forward movement subsequently.”
Racing Talent and Recruitment Drive
In the summer they contracted Checo Pérez and Valtteri as their drivers for 2026, a duo remarkable for their vast knowledge in performing at the front in two top-tier teams, the Red Bull team and the Mercedes team, and the Finnish driver echoed the attitude of determined optimism.
“Of course, we are pragmatic,” he commented. “There’s going to be a mountain of work 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 believe with this structure, with these individuals, these people, it's entirely possible we won't be able to get relatively quickly to the front and enjoy some success.”
To that end recruitment has been in full swing, with personnel now up to over 400 and planned to attain the goal of 600 members swiftly. Complementing their current base at the UK base, the team are in the phase of building an headquarters at Fishers in Indianapolis and there is the GM works in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are building the facility to produce the 2029 engine, set for 2029 – until then they will operate with Ferrari engines – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany. It is a sophisticated organisation, different from the direction in F1 for greater centralisation, and has prompted the fresh organizational mindset to which Nick Chester referred to.
Space Mission Model
“It's closely based on the Apollo program,” said the team principal just before the Silverstone race in the summer. “We are pragmatic, we know how difficult it is. The deadlines, they’re super, super, super short. Alright, we aren't launching a lunar mission, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have embraced, rather than the usual hierarchical system, a decentralized management similar to that of Nasa’s, where there were a variety of project teams all tackling various components of the mission in a variety of locations.
“In a system where you follow a procedure where an issue arises and they raise it up to their supervisor, that manager consults a leader at a different location, it is relayed back, the process is very slow,” says the CTO. “We give authority to staff to take charge. Avoiding management approval for everything is so much cleaner and faster.”
Upcoming Challenges
The success of this agile strategy will be proven in the pressure of racing when the season begins and there is a considerable amount at stake for the sport, too. The Cadillac team have recruited as their development driver the young American Colton Herta
