Approximately one year in the past at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were at last awarded the go-ahead as F1's newest entrant for 2026. Establishing the team from the ground up has involved a frenetic work rate that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the NASA lunar mission. As Formula One descends on Vegas this race weekend, Cadillac are aware the deadline is approaching.
The Countdown to Australia
At the season finale of the campaign to be held in the America, with approximately 100 days to go before they hit the circuit for the inaugural time in Australia at the 2026 opener, Cadillac have made significant progress but, in what must seem like a monumental endeavor, they are aware there will not be enough hours in the day.
The technical director, Nick Chester, became part of the embryonic operation in the spring of 2023 soon after it was formed, when the squad were without even an approved entry. He has been at its heart since then and gets a knowing grin when considering the experience.
“You can have five minutes looking back at what the team has achieved and say: ‘Wow, isn’t this fantastic what we’ve done in a short three-year period,’” he notes. “And then the very next instant you think: ‘Well, we still have a significant amount to do.’”
A One-of-a-Kind Opportunity
Chester enjoyed success at the Renault team in the driver Fernando Alonso's title-winning seasons of 2005 and 2006 and was in command of engineering strategy at the new Mercedes electric racing team, but no previous experience has been quite like the task of introducing the all-American Cadillac marque, a factory team sponsored by the corporate entity, General Motors, into F1.
“Building an Formula One team from the ground up, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he observes. “It's unparalleled. In an well-set team you rarely get the possibility to change organizational mindset.”
With each passing day that passes thoughts are sharper on the approaching critical moment in Australia and expectations are being managed.
“You have to assume that a brand-new squad coming in is likely to start at the back but simply getting on to the grid will be an achievement in itself,” the team principal noted recently and while Chester shared this view he thought the squad had a reputation to build as well.
“The initial objective we aim to demonstrate is that we should be there,” he says. “So we arrive and we function efficiently. We aim to demonstrate that this is a professional operation doing the right things on the track. After we have demonstrated that our credentials are solid, then we aim to demonstrate improvement after that.”
Driver Lineup and Hiring Push
In late summer they contracted Checo Pérez and Valtteri as their racers for the 2026 season, a pair remarkable for their priceless expertise in operating at the sharp end in two championship-winning squads, Red Bull and Mercedes, and the Finnish driver echoed the attitude of combative optimism.
“Certainly, we are pragmatic,” he commented. “We have a massive task to do, and we expect almost certainly a tough opening, because it's the top level of motorsport. But we aren't joining to remain at the rear. I believe with this structure, with this group, this staff, there’s no reason why we can't manage to advance swiftly up to the pace and enjoy some success.”
To achieve that goal recruitment has been in top gear, with employees now up to more than 400 and planned to hit the target of 600 members swiftly. Alongside their current base at the Silverstone circuit, the team are in the midst of completing an HQ at the Fishers location in the Indianapolis area and there is the General Motors facility in Charlotte, where they are constructing the facility to build the 2029 engine, scheduled for the 2029 season – for now they will use Ferrari power units – and the aerodynamic facility in Cologne. It is a complex organisation, contrary to the direction in F1 for more centralization, and has prompted the fresh organizational mindset to which the CTO referred.
NASA Model
“It's closely based on the NASA moon mission,” stated 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 can seem that way.”
So they have implemented, rather than the conventional chain of command, a non-hierarchical approach akin to that of the space agency's, where there were a variety of project teams all tackling different aspects of the mission at a different facilities.
“When you must follow a protocol where an issue arises and they escalate it to their manager, that manager consults a leader somewhere else, it goes back down the chain, it’s super slow,” explains Nick Chester. “We give authority to team members to take charge. Avoiding management approval for each action is far more efficient and quicker.”
The Future
The effectiveness of this nimble approach will be tested in the pressure of racing in 2026 and there is a significant degree on the line for the sport, too. The Cadillac team have signed as their reserve driver the young Californian Colton Herta
