Approximately twelve months in the past at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were at last granted the green light as F1's most recent entry for 2026. Constructing the squad from nothing has required a hectic work rate that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the NASA lunar mission. As the sport converges on Vegas this race weekend, the team know the deadline is approaching.
The Countdown to Australia
At the last event of the campaign to be held in the America, with approximately a hundred days to go before they take to the track for the inaugural time in Australia at the 2026 opener, Cadillac have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a monumental task, they are conscious there will not be adequate time.
The CTO, Nick Chester, came aboard the embryonic operation in the spring of 2023 soon after it was created, when the team were without even an official entry. He has been at its heart since then and has a wry smile when thinking about the ride.
“You might get a short period thinking back at what you have accomplished and say: ‘Wow, isn’t this fantastic what we’ve done in under three years,’” Chester states. “And then the very next instant you consider: ‘Yes, we still have a significant amount to do.’”
A Unique Challenge
Nick Chester achieved victories at the Renault team in Fernando Alonso’s victorious campaigns of the mid-2000s and was in command of technical direction at the new Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but no previous experience has truly matched the task of bringing the all-American Cadillac name, a manufacturer-backed entry sponsored by the owner, General Motors Corporation, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Establishing an F1 team from the ground up, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he observes. “It's unparalleled. In an established team you don’t get the opportunity to change organizational mindset.”
With every day that goes by thoughts are increasingly concentrated on the impending critical moment in Melbourne and expectations are being handled.
“One must presume that any new team entering the sport is probably going to finish last but simply getting on to the grid will be an achievement in itself,” Graeme Lowdon commented earlier this year and while Chester shared this view he thought the squad had a point to prove as well.
“The initial objective we want to show is that we should be there,” he says. “So that we show up and we function efficiently. We seek to prove that we’re a proper team executing the proper actions on the circuit. After we prove that we are a legitimate team, then we want to show forward movement from there on.”
Racing Talent and Team Building Effort
In late summer they contracted Sergio Pérez and Bottas as their drivers for 2026, a duo distinguished for their vast knowledge in performing at the sharp end in two top-tier teams, Red Bull and Mercedes, and the Finnish driver expressed the sentiment of combative optimism.
“Of course, we are pragmatic,” he commented. “We face a mountain of work to do, and we expect most likely a tough opening, because this is Formula One. But we’re not there to finish last. I am confident with this setup, with this group, these people, it's entirely possible we won't be able to advance swiftly up to the pace and enjoy some success.”
To achieve that goal staff acquisition has been in overdrive, with employees now at more than 400 and intended to attain the objective of 600 quickly. Complementing their current base at Silverstone, the team are in the process of building an headquarters at the Fishers location in the Indianapolis area and there is the GM plant in Charlotte, where they are developing the plant to build the 2029 engine, planned for the 2029 season – for now they will use Ferrari power units – and the aerodynamic facility in Germany. It is a sophisticated organisation, contrary to the trend in Formula One for more centralization, and has led to the innovative team culture to which the CTO referred to.
NASA Blueprint
“We've drawn heavily from the Apollo project,” stated Graeme Lowdon just before the British Grand Prix in the summer. “We have a clear-eyed view, we understand how tough it is. The timelines, they’re super, super, super short. OK, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but it feels like it sometimes.”
So they have embraced, rather than the usual hierarchical system, a non-hierarchical approach akin to that of Nasa’s, where there were a range of project teams all focusing on distinct elements of the program in a variety of locations.
“If you have to go through a protocol where an issue arises and they raise it up to their supervisor, that supervisor consults a leader at a different location, it travels back down, it becomes inefficient,” notes the CTO. “So we empower staff to take charge. Eliminating managerial sign-off for everything is much smoother and faster.”
The Future
The efficacy of this agile strategy will be proven in the heat of competition next season and there is a significant degree on the line for the sport, too. The Cadillac team have signed as their reserve driver the 25-year-old American Colton Herta
