Just over one year ago at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were finally given the go-ahead as F1's newest participant for the 2026 season. Building the squad from scratch has required a frenetic work rate that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo moon landing. As F1 descends on Las Vegas this weekend, Cadillac understand the deadline is approaching.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the final race of the season to be held in the US, with just over three months to go before they hit the circuit for the inaugural time in Australia at the 2026 opener, the Cadillac F1 project have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a monumental task, they are aware there will not 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 organization were without even an approved entry. He has been at its center from that point and has a amused expression when considering the experience.
“You might get a short period looking back at what the team has achieved and say: ‘Amazing, what an achievement what we have built in less than three years,’” he notes. “And then the very next instant you think: ‘Well, we still have a great deal to do.’”
An Unprecedented Opportunity
The CTO achieved victories at Renault in Fernando Alonso’s victorious seasons of 2005 and 2006 and was in control of technical development at the then-new Mercedes electric racing team, but nothing has quite compared with the mission of introducing the iconic American Cadillac brand, a manufacturer-backed entry supported by the parent company, General Motors Corporation, into F1.
“Creating an Formula One team from scratch, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” he says. “It's unparalleled. In an well-set team you don’t get the opportunity to transform organizational mindset.”
With each passing day that goes by minds are sharper on the approaching decisive point in Melbourne and expectations are being set realistically.
“One must presume that any new team coming in is probably going to finish last but simply getting on to the grid will be an feat in itself,” Graeme Lowdon stated earlier this year and while Chester agreed with this sentiment he felt the squad had a statement to make as well.
“Our primary goal we aim to demonstrate is that we should be there,” he emphasizes. “In order that we turn up and we operate well. We seek to prove that we’re a proper team performing the proper actions on the race track. After we’ve shown that we’re really credible, then we aim to demonstrate improvement subsequently.”
Pilot Selection and Hiring Effort
In the summer they signed Checo Pérez and Valtteri Bottas as their drivers for 2026, a duo remarkable for their invaluable experience in performing at the front in two championship-winning squads, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes-AMG, and the Finnish driver echoed the attitude of fighting spirit.
“Naturally, we have a realistic outlook,” Bottas stated. “We face a huge amount of work to do, and it’s going to be almost certainly a difficult start, because it is F1. But our goal isn't to finish last. In my view with this structure, with these individuals, these personnel, there’s no reason why we won't be able to progress rapidly up to the pace and achieve good results.”
To achieve that goal staff acquisition has been in top gear, with staff now at over 400 and intended to reach the objective of 600 quickly. Complementing their existing facility at the Silverstone circuit, the squad are in the process of finishing an main base at Fishers, Indiana in Indianapolis and there is the General Motors facility in Charlotte, where they are developing the facility to manufacture the 2029 engine, scheduled for 2029 – until then they will use Ferrari engines – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany. It is a intricate organisation, contrary to the direction in Formula One for increased consolidation, and has prompted the innovative team culture to which Chester alluded.
Space Mission Inspiration
“We've drawn heavily from the NASA moon mission,” remarked Graeme Lowdon just before the Silverstone race in mid-season. “We have a clear-eyed view, we know how tough it is. The timelines, are incredibly tight. Alright, it's not a space expedition, but it can seem that way.”
So they have implemented, as opposed to the usual hierarchical system, a flat management structure similar to that of Nasa’s, where there were a range of specialist groups all focusing on various components of the project in a different facilities.
“In a system where you follow a protocol where someone has a problem and they raise it up to their supervisor, that leader consults a supervisor in another department, it travels back down, it becomes inefficient,” says the CTO. “So we empower people to really get on with it. Moving away from managerial sign-off for all decisions is far more efficient and faster.”
Upcoming Challenges
The efficacy of this flexible strategy will be evaluated in the heat of competition when the season begins and there is a significant degree at stake for Formula One, too. The Cadillac team have signed as their reserve driver the emerging American Colton Herta
