Just over one year previously at the Nevada Grand Prix, Cadillac were finally given the green light as Formula One’s most recent participant for the 2026 season. Establishing the organization from scratch has involved a hectic pace of work that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo moon landing. As F1 converges on Vegas this weekend, Cadillac are aware the deadline is approaching.
The Countdown to Australia
At the last event of the championship to be hosted in the US, with just over 100 days to go before they hit the circuit for the first time in Melbourne at the 2026 season opener, the Cadillac F1 project have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a sisyphean challenge, they are cognizant there will not be sufficient time.
The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, became part of the newly formed operation in the spring of 2023 not long after it was established, when the team were without even an official entry. He has been at its center since then and enjoys a wry smile when thinking about the journey.
“You can have a brief moment looking back at what you have accomplished and think: ‘Wow, isn’t this fantastic what we’ve done in less than three years,’” Chester states. “But then the next minute you realize: ‘Yeah, we’ve still got a great deal to do.’”
An Unprecedented Task
Nick Chester had success at Renault in Alonso's title-winning seasons of 2005/2006 and was in control of technical development at the new Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but nothing has truly matched the task of launching the all-American Cadillac marque, a manufacturer-backed entry sponsored by the owner, General Motors Corporation, into Formula One.
“Building an grand prix team from nothing, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he observes. “There's nothing comparable. In an existing team you won't have the opportunity to change organizational mindset.”
With each passing day that goes by focus are more focused on the approaching moment of truth in Melbourne and targets are being set realistically.
“You have to assume that any new team entering the sport is likely to start at the back but merely participating will be an accomplishment in itself,” Graeme Lowdon commented earlier this year and while Nick Chester shared this view he thought the organization had a statement to make as well.
“Our primary goal we aim to demonstrate is that we belong on the grid,” he emphasizes. “So we show up and we function efficiently. We aim to demonstrate that we are a serious contender executing the right things on the track. Once we prove that our credentials are solid, then we aim to demonstrate forward movement after that.”
Racing Talent and Hiring Effort
In August they signed Sergio Perez and Bottas as their racers for 2026, a duo notable for their vast knowledge in performing at the front in two championship-winning squads, the Red Bull team and Mercedes-AMG, and Bottas echoed the mood of fighting spirit.
“Certainly, we’re realistic,” he commented. “There’s going to be a massive task to do, and we expect most likely a difficult start, because it is F1. But our goal isn't to finish last. I believe given this organization, with these individuals, this staff, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to progress rapidly up to the pace and enjoy some success.”
To achieve that goal staff acquisition has been in overdrive, with employees now reaching over 400 and intended to attain the objective of six hundred swiftly. Alongside their existing facility at the UK base, the organization are in the midst of building an headquarters at Fishers, Indiana in the Indianapolis area and there is the GM works in Charlotte, where they are constructing the center to build the power unit, planned for 2029 – until then they will use power from Ferrari – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany. It is a intricate structure, at odds with the movement in the sport for increased consolidation, and has led to the innovative team culture to which the CTO referred.
Space Mission Inspiration
“We've drawn heavily from the NASA moon mission,” said Graeme Lowdon just before the British Grand Prix in the summer. “We are pragmatic, we recognize how tough it is. The schedules, are extremely compressed. Alright, we aren't launching a lunar mission, but it can seem that way.”
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 specialist groups all working on different aspects of the program in a multiple sites.
“If you have to go through a protocol where a challenge emerges and they escalate it to their supervisor, that leader consults a leader in another department, it travels back down, it’s super slow,” says the CTO. “So we empower team members to really get on with it. Avoiding management approval for all decisions is so much cleaner and faster.”
What Lies Ahead
The success of this agile strategy will be tested in the heat of competition when the season begins and there is no little amount on the line for Formula One, too. Cadillac have taken on as their reserve driver the emerging American Colton Herta
