Just over one year previously at the Nevada Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately awarded the green light as F1's most recent participant for 2026. Constructing the squad from nothing has required a hectic work rate that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the Apollo moon landing. As Formula One converges on the Vegas strip this weekend, Cadillac are aware the deadline is approaching.
The Tight Timeline to Melbourne
At the final race of the season to be hosted in the America, with approximately a hundred days to go before they hit the circuit for the maiden outing in Melbourne at the 2026 opener, Cadillac have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a monumental task, they are aware there will never be enough hours in the day.
The CTO, Nick Chester, became part of the newly formed team 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 ride.
“There might be five minutes looking back at what you’ve done and say: ‘Wow, what an achievement what we’ve done in less than three years,’” Chester states. “And then the very next instant you think: ‘Well, we still have quite a lot to do.’”
An Unprecedented Task
The CTO achieved victories at Renault in Fernando Alonso’s title-winning seasons of 2005 and 2006 and was in command of technical direction at the new Mercedes electric racing team, but no previous experience has truly matched the mission of launching the iconic American Cadillac brand, a manufacturer-backed entry supported by the corporate entity, GM, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Building an F1 team from nothing, when will you ever have the possibility to do that?” he observes. “It's unparalleled. In an established team you won't have the opportunity to alter organizational mindset.”
With each passing day that elapses thoughts are increasingly concentrated on the looming critical moment in Australia and targets are being managed.
“One must presume that any new team entering the sport is likely to start at the back but simply getting on to the grid will be an feat in itself,” Graeme Lowdon stated earlier this year and while the CTO echoed this he thought the team had a point to prove as well.
“The initial objective we intend to prove is that we should be there,” he emphasizes. “In order that we arrive and we operate well. We want to show that we’re a proper team executing the correct procedures on the track. After we prove that our credentials are solid, then we aim to demonstrate improvement subsequently.”
Driver Lineup and Team Building Effort
In the summer they signed Sergio Pérez and Bottas as their racers for 2026, a duo remarkable for their vast knowledge in operating at the leading positions in two top-tier teams, Red Bull and Mercedes, and the Finnish driver expressed the sentiment of combative optimism.
“Naturally, we have a realistic outlook,” he said. “There’s going to be a mountain of work to do, and we expect probably a difficult start, because it's the top level of motorsport. But we’re not there to finish last. In my view with this structure, with this team, this staff, there is every reason that we won't be able to advance swiftly to the front and enjoy some success.”
To realize that ambition recruitment has been in full swing, with employees now up to in excess of 400 and planned to reach the objective of 600 members quickly. In addition to their current base at Silverstone, the squad are in the phase of completing an HQ at Fishers, Indiana in Indy and there is the GM works in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are developing the facility to build the new engine, scheduled for 2029 – in the meantime they will use Ferrari engines – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Germany. It is a sophisticated organization, different from the movement in Formula One for more centralization, and has inspired the fresh organizational mindset to which the CTO referred.
Space Mission Inspiration
“We've drawn heavily from the Apollo program,” said Lowdon just before the British Grand Prix in July. “We have a clear-eyed view, we know how difficult it is. The timelines, are incredibly tight. Alright, we aren't launching a lunar mission, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have implemented, as opposed to the usual hierarchical system, a decentralized management akin to that of Nasa’s, where there were a variety of specialist groups all working on distinct elements of the program at a variety of locations.
“If you have to go through a process where an issue arises and they report it to their supervisor, that manager consults a supervisor in another department, it goes back down the chain, the process is very slow,” notes the CTO. “So we empower staff to take charge. Moving away from managerial sign-off for everything is far more efficient and more rapid.”
Upcoming Challenges
The success of this nimble approach will be proven in the pressure of racing next season and there is a significant degree at stake for the sport, too. The Cadillac team have signed as their reserve driver the young Californian Colton Herta
