Approximately one year ago at the Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately given the go-ahead as the world of Formula One's newest entrant for 2026. Constructing the squad from scratch has entailed a intense pace of work that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the Apollo moon landing. As the sport descends on Vegas this weekend, the team are aware time is getting tight.
The Countdown to Australia
At the last event of the championship to be held in the United States, with approximately 100 days to go before they hit the circuit for the inaugural time in Australia at the 2026 opener, Cadillac have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a sisyphean challenge, they are aware there will never be sufficient time.
The CTO, Nick Chester, became part of the newly formed project in early 2023 not long after it was formed, when the squad were without even an official entry. He has been at its heart since then and gets a amused expression when considering the ride.
“You might get a short period thinking back at what you have accomplished and go: ‘Wow, isn’t this fantastic what we’ve done in less than three years,’” he says. “And then the very next instant you think: ‘Yes, there is still quite a lot to do.’”
A Unique Task
Nick Chester enjoyed success at the Renault team in the driver Fernando Alonso's victorious seasons of 2005/2006 and was in charge of engineering strategy at the recently formed Mercedes Formula E team, but no other project has truly matched the challenge of introducing the iconic American Cadillac name, a manufacturer-backed entry supported by the corporate entity, GM, into Formula One.
“Establishing an Formula One team from nothing, when will you ever have the possibility to do that?” he observes. “There's nothing comparable. In an well-set team you don’t get the possibility to alter organizational mindset.”
With each day that goes by thoughts are more focused on the looming decisive point in the Australian GP and goals are being managed.
“You have to assume that any new team coming in is likely to start at the back but just making it to the starting line will be an achievement in itself,” Graeme Lowdon noted recently and while Chester agreed with this sentiment he believed the team had a statement to make as well.
“The first thing we aim to demonstrate is that we deserve to be there,” he emphasizes. “So we turn up and we perform competently. We aim to demonstrate that we’re a proper team executing the proper actions on the track. After we have demonstrated that we are a legitimate team, then we want to show improvement subsequently.”
Pilot Selection and Recruitment Push
In late summer they recruited Sergio Pérez and Bottas as their drivers for 2026, a tandem remarkable for their priceless expertise in competing at the front in two of the sport’s biggest teams, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes, and the Finnish driver reflected the attitude of fighting spirit.
“Of course, we are pragmatic,” he commented. “We have a massive task to do, and it will likely be most likely a difficult start, because it's the top level of motorsport. But we’re not there to remain at the rear. I believe given this organization, with these individuals, these people, there is every reason that we won't be able to progress rapidly up to the pace and taste victory.”
To realize that ambition hiring has been in full swing, with employees now at over 400 and scheduled to attain the objective of 600 rapidly. Alongside their present headquarters at the Silverstone circuit, the squad are in the midst of completing an HQ at the Fishers location in Indianapolis and there is the General Motors facility in Charlotte, where they are constructing the plant to build the new engine, planned for the 2029 season – until then they will run Ferrari engines – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Cologne. It is a intricate organisation, at odds with the trend in the sport for more centralization, and has led to the innovative team culture to which the CTO referred.
Space Mission Model
“It’s highly modelled on the Apollo program,” remarked the team principal ahead of the British GP in the summer. “We’re realistic, we know how tough it is. The timelines, are extremely compressed. Well, it's not a space expedition, but it feels like it sometimes.”
So they have implemented, rather than the traditional management structure, a non-hierarchical approach comparable to that of NASA's, where there were a variety of specialist groups all focusing on various components of the mission in a multiple sites.
“If you have to go through a protocol where someone has a problem and they escalate it to their team leader, that manager consults a supervisor in another department, it travels back down, it becomes inefficient,” says Chester. “So we empower people to take charge. Avoiding managerial sign-off for all decisions is so much cleaner and quicker.”
What Lies Ahead
The efficacy of this agile methodology will be proven in the intensity of Grand Prix when the season begins and there is no little amount at stake for the sport, too. Cadillac have signed as their test driver the emerging Californian Colton Herta
