Just over one year in the past at the Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were finally granted the go-ahead as Formula One’s newest participant for 2026. Constructing the squad from scratch has required a intense pace of work that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo program. As the sport descends on Las Vegas this weekend, the team are aware the deadline is approaching.
The Countdown to Australia
At the last event of the championship to be hosted in the America, with just over a hundred days to go before they make their debut for the maiden outing in Melbourne at the 2026 opener, the Cadillac F1 project have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a sisyphean task, they are aware there will never be adequate time.
The CTO, Nick Chester, became part of the nascent project in early 2023 not long after it was formed, when the team were without even an approved entry. He has been at its core from that point and has a knowing grin when considering the journey.
“There might be a short period thinking back at what you have accomplished and say: ‘Wow, how impressive what we’ve done in under three years,’” he notes. “Then the next minute you realize: ‘Well, we’ve still got quite a lot to do.’”
A One-of-a-Kind Task
The CTO enjoyed success at Renault in Alonso's victorious years of 2005 and 2006 and was in charge of technical development at the recently formed Mercedes Formula E team, but nothing has been quite like the mission of launching the all-American Cadillac marque, a manufacturer-backed entry sponsored by the corporate entity, GM, into F1.
“Establishing an grand prix team from the ground up, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” Chester remarks. “It is like nothing else. In an well-set team you won't have the possibility to transform cultural approach.”
With each day that goes by thoughts are sharper on the approaching decisive point in Melbourne and goals are being set realistically.
“You have to assume that a brand-new squad entering the sport is probably going to finish last but merely participating will be an achievement in itself,” Lowdon stated recently and while Chester echoed this he thought the squad had a point to prove as well.
“The first thing we aim to demonstrate is that we deserve to be there,” he emphasizes. “So we arrive and we operate well. We want to show that we are a serious contender doing the right things on the circuit. When we’ve shown that our credentials are solid, then we want to show progression from there on.”
Driver Lineup and Team Building Effort
In August they recruited Checo Pérez and Valtteri as their pilots for the 2026 season, a duo distinguished for their vast knowledge in performing at the front in two top-tier teams, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes, and Valtteri Bottas expressed the sentiment of determined optimism.
“Certainly, we are pragmatic,” he commented. “We face a massive task to do, and we expect almost certainly a tough opening, because it is F1. But our goal isn't to finish last. I am confident with this structure, with this team, this staff, there’s no reason why we can't manage to progress rapidly to the front and enjoy some success.”
To realize that ambition hiring has been in full swing, with personnel now reaching in excess of 400 and planned to hit the target of 600 rapidly. In addition to their existing facility at the UK base, the organization are in the process of finishing an headquarters at Fishers in Indianapolis and there is the General Motors facility in Charlotte, where they are building the facility to produce the power unit, scheduled for 2029 – for now they will operate with Ferrari engines – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Germany. It is a complex organization, contrary to the movement in the sport for greater centralisation, and has prompted the innovative team culture to which Nick Chester referred to.
Apollo Blueprint
“It's closely based on the Apollo program,” remarked Graeme Lowdon just before the Silverstone race in July. “We’re realistic, we know how challenging it is. The timelines, they’re super, super, super short. OK, it's not a space expedition, but it can seem that way.”
So they have adopted, instead of the conventional chain of command, a flat management structure similar to that of Nasa’s, where there were a variety of specialist groups all working on various components of the project in a different facilities.
“If you have to go through a procedure where an issue arises and they raise it up to their supervisor, that supervisor communicates with a manager somewhere else, it travels back down, it’s super slow,” notes Chester. “So we empower people to take charge. Moving away from management approval for everything is far more efficient and faster.”
What Lies Ahead
The success of this agile methodology will be tested in the pressure of racing in 2026 and there is a significant degree riding on this for Formula One, too. The Cadillac team have recruited as their reserve driver the young American Colton Herta
