Approximately twelve months ago at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were finally awarded the official approval as the world of Formula One's most recent entry for the 2026 season. Establishing the squad from nothing has involved a intense work rate that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the Apollo program. As Formula One arrives on Las Vegas this race weekend, Cadillac are aware the deadline is approaching.
The Race Against Time to Melbourne
At the season finale of the campaign to be hosted in the United States, with just over a hundred days to go before they take to the track for the inaugural time in Melbourne at the 2026 season opener, the Cadillac F1 project have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a never-ending task, they are aware there will never be sufficient time.
The technical director, Nick Chester, came aboard the embryonic project in early 2023 not long after it was formed, when the team were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its heart since then and has a wry smile when reflecting on the experience.
“You might get a short period looking back at what you have accomplished and say: ‘Wow, what an achievement what we’ve done in a short three-year period,’” he notes. “But then the very next instant you think: ‘Yeah, we’ve still got quite a lot to do.’”
A Unique Opportunity
Chester enjoyed success at Renault in the driver Fernando Alonso's championship-winning seasons of 2005/2006 and was in charge of engineering strategy at the then-new Mercedes electric racing team, but nothing has truly matched the task of launching the all-American Cadillac name, a factory team supported by the owner, General Motors, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Building an Formula One team from the ground up, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” he observes. “It's unparalleled. In an established team you won't have the chance to transform team culture.”
With each day that passes minds are increasingly concentrated on the approaching critical moment in Melbourne and expectations are being managed.
“One must presume that a brand-new squad entering the sport is probably going to finish last but just making it to the starting line will be an achievement in itself,” Graeme Lowdon commented earlier this year and while the CTO agreed with this sentiment he felt the squad had a reputation to build as well.
“The initial objective we aim to demonstrate is that we deserve to be there,” Chester explains. “So we show up and we operate well. We seek to prove that we are a serious contender performing the correct procedures on the circuit. When we have demonstrated that we are a legitimate team, then we aim to demonstrate forward movement subsequently.”
Racing Talent and Hiring Effort
In late summer they contracted Sergio Pérez and Bottas as their racers for the 2026 season, a tandem notable for their invaluable experience in competing at the front in two top-tier teams, the Red Bull team and Mercedes, and Valtteri Bottas reflected the mood of fighting spirit.
“Certainly, we have a realistic outlook,” he said. “We have a huge amount of work to do, and it’s going to be almost certainly a challenging beginning, because it is F1. But we aren't joining to stay at the back. In my view given this organization, with this group, these personnel, it's entirely possible we won't be able to progress rapidly to a competitive level and achieve good results.”
To realize that ambition staff acquisition has been in top gear, with staff now reaching over 400 and intended to hit the goal of 600 rapidly. In addition to their current base at the Silverstone circuit, the squad are in the phase of building an headquarters at the Fishers location in Indianapolis and there is the General Motors facility in North Carolina, where they are developing the plant to build the 2029 engine, set for 2029 – in the meantime they will operate with Ferrari power units – and the aerodynamic facility in Germany. It is a intricate structure, different from the trend in Formula One for more centralization, and has inspired the fresh organizational mindset to which Nick Chester alluded.
Apollo Blueprint
“It’s highly modelled on the Apollo program,” stated Graeme Lowdon ahead of the British GP in July. “We have a clear-eyed view, we understand how challenging it is. The timelines, are incredibly tight. Alright, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but it feels like it sometimes.”
So they have implemented, rather than the usual hierarchical system, a non-hierarchical approach similar to that of the space agency's, where there were a range of project teams all focusing on distinct elements of the program at a multiple sites.
“When you must follow a process where an issue arises and they escalate it to their supervisor, that supervisor communicates with a manager somewhere else, it is relayed back, the process is very slow,” notes the CTO. “So we empower staff to really get on with it. Avoiding managerial sign-off for all decisions is so much cleaner and quicker.”
Upcoming Challenges
The success of this agile strategy will be evaluated in the pressure of racing next season and there is a significant degree riding on this for F1, too. Cadillac have recruited as their reserve driver the emerging American Colton Herta
