A little more than twelve months in the past at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were at last awarded the go-ahead as Formula One’s most recent entry for 2026. Constructing the squad from nothing has entailed a intense operating tempo that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the NASA lunar mission. As the sport descends on Las Vegas this race weekend, the team are aware the clock is ticking.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the last event of the season to be staged in the US, with approximately three months to go before they take to the track for the maiden outing in Australia 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 not be adequate time.
The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, joined the newly formed team in March 2023 soon after it was formed, when the squad were without even an official entry. He has been at its center from that point and enjoys a amused expression when thinking about the journey.
“You can have a short period reflecting at what you have accomplished and say: ‘Amazing, what an achievement what the team has created in a short three-year period,’” he notes. “And then the following moment you realize: ‘Well, we still have a significant amount to do.’”
A Unique Opportunity
Nick Chester enjoyed success at the Renault team in Alonso's title-winning seasons of 2005/2006 and was in control of technical direction at the recently formed Mercedes Formula E team, but no previous experience has been quite like the mission of launching the quintessentially American Cadillac brand, a manufacturer-backed entry supported by the parent company, GM, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Building an Formula One team from nothing, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he observes. “It's unparalleled. In an existing team you won't have the possibility to change team culture.”
With each passing day that goes by focus are more focused on the looming critical moment in Australia and expectations are being set realistically.
“One must presume that a brand-new squad coming in is going to be last but just making it to the starting line will be an accomplishment in itself,” Lowdon stated this year and while Nick Chester shared this view he felt the organization had a statement to make as well.
“Our primary goal we intend to prove is that we deserve to be there,” he emphasizes. “So that we show up and we perform competently. We want to show that we’re a proper team executing the proper actions on the circuit. When we prove that we’re really credible, then we aim to demonstrate forward movement subsequently.”
Driver Lineup and Hiring Drive
In the summer they recruited Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas as their racers for 2026, a pair distinguished for their priceless expertise in competing at the sharp end in two of the sport’s biggest teams, Red Bull and Mercedes-AMG, and Bottas reflected the sentiment of determined optimism.
“Of course, we’re realistic,” he said. “We face a massive task to do, and it’s going to be probably a difficult start, because this is Formula One. But we aren't joining to finish last. I am confident with this setup, with this group, these people, there is every reason that we won't be able to advance swiftly up to the pace and taste victory.”
To that end staff acquisition has been in full swing, with staff now up to over 400 and planned to reach the target of 600 quickly. Complementing their present headquarters at the UK base, the squad are in the process of completing an headquarters at Fishers, Indiana in Indy and there is the General Motors facility in Charlotte, where they are developing the facility to manufacture the new engine, scheduled for 2029 – until then they will operate with Ferrari power units – and the aerodynamic facility in Cologne. It is a intricate organisation, different from the trend in F1 for more centralization, and has prompted the new cultural approach to which Nick Chester referred.
Apollo Model
“It’s highly modelled on the Apollo program,” remarked the team principal ahead of the British GP in mid-season. “We’re realistic, we recognize how difficult it is. The timelines, they’re super, super, super short. Well, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have embraced, rather than the conventional chain of command, a non-hierarchical approach similar to that of NASA's, where there were a range of Apollo teams all focusing on distinct elements of the program at a multiple sites.
“When you must follow a protocol where someone has a problem and they escalate it to their supervisor, that leader consults a supervisor in another department, it goes back down the chain, it’s super slow,” says Chester. “So we empower staff to really get on with it. Moving away from hierarchical consent for everything is far more efficient and quicker.”
What Lies Ahead
The efficacy of this flexible approach will be proven in the heat of competition when the season begins and there is no little amount riding on this for Formula One, too. The Cadillac team have signed as their development driver the emerging American Colton Herta
