Just over one year previously at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately given the go-ahead as F1's latest entry for the 2026 season. Establishing the squad from scratch has required a intense pace of work that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo moon landing. As the sport descends on Las Vegas this weekend, the team understand the deadline is approaching.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the season finale of the campaign to be staged in the US, with around 100 days to go before they take to the track for the maiden outing in Australia at the 2026 season opener, Cadillac have made significant progress but, in what must seem like a monumental task, they are aware there will never be enough hours in the day.
The technical director, Nick Chester, became part of the embryonic operation in March 2023 not long after it was created, when the squad were without even an official entry. He has been at its core since then and gets a knowing grin when considering the ride.
“You might get five minutes reflecting at what the team has achieved and think: ‘Incredible, how impressive what we’ve done in a short three-year period,’” Chester states. “And then the next minute you think: ‘Well, we’ve still got a significant amount to do.’”
A One-of-a-Kind Opportunity
The CTO achieved victories at the Renault team in Alonso's championship-winning seasons of the mid-2000s and was in control of engineering strategy at the new Mercedes electric racing team, but nothing has quite compared with the task of bringing the quintessentially American Cadillac name, a factory team sponsored by the parent company, General Motors Corporation, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Establishing an F1 team from scratch, when will you ever have the possibility to do that?” Chester remarks. “It's unparalleled. In an existing team you rarely get the chance to change team culture.”
With each passing day that elapses focus are increasingly concentrated on the impending critical moment in the Australian GP and targets are being handled.
“It's reasonable to expect that any incoming team coming in is probably going to finish last but simply getting on to the grid will be an feat in itself,” the team principal stated this year and while Chester shared this view he thought the team had a reputation to build as well.
“The initial objective we intend to prove is that we deserve to be there,” Chester explains. “So that we show up and we operate well. We aim to demonstrate that we are a serious contender executing the proper actions on the race track. After we prove that we are a legitimate team, then we will focus on progression from there on.”
Racing Talent and Recruitment Drive
In late summer they signed Sergio Perez and Valtteri as their pilots for 2026, a tandem notable for their invaluable experience in operating at the front in two championship-winning squads, Red Bull and the Mercedes team, and Valtteri Bottas reflected the attitude of fighting spirit.
“Of course, we have a realistic outlook,” Bottas stated. “We face a mountain of work to do, and we expect probably a challenging beginning, because this is Formula One. But we’re not there to remain at the rear. I believe given this organization, with this team, these people, there’s no reason why we won't be able to progress rapidly up to the pace and enjoy some success.”
To that end hiring has been in full swing, with personnel now up to over 400 and planned to reach the target of 600 members rapidly. Complementing their existing facility at the Silverstone circuit, the squad are in the process of finishing an headquarters at Fishers, Indiana in Indy and there is the GM works in Charlotte, where they are developing the plant to build the power unit, planned for the 2029 season – until then they will operate with Ferrari engines – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Cologne. It is a complex organisation, different from the direction in F1 for greater centralisation, and has inspired the new cultural approach to which the CTO referred.
Space Mission Model
“It’s highly modelled on the Apollo program,” remarked Graeme Lowdon ahead of the Silverstone race in mid-season. “We’re realistic, we know how challenging it is. The timelines, they’re super, super, super short. Well, we aren't launching a lunar mission, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have embraced, rather than the traditional management structure, a flat management structure akin to that of NASA's, where there were a variety of Apollo teams all working on distinct elements of the project in a different facilities.
“If you have to go through a protocol where someone has a problem and they report it to their manager, that leader consults a supervisor at a different location, it is relayed back, it’s super slow,” says the CTO. “So we empower people to really get on with it. Moving away from management approval for all decisions is much smoother and faster.”
Upcoming Challenges
The effectiveness of this agile approach will be tested in the intensity of Grand Prix next season and there is no little amount on the line for F1, too. The Cadillac team have signed as their reserve driver the young Californian Colton Herta
