Approximately a full year previously at the Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately given the official approval as Formula One’s latest participant for 2026. Building the team from scratch has entailed a frenetic operating tempo that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the NASA lunar mission. As F1 arrives on the Vegas strip this weekend, the team understand the deadline is approaching.
The Countdown to Australia
At the season finale of the championship to be hosted in the United States, with around a hundred days to go before they make their debut for the maiden outing in Melbourne at the 2026 season opener, the Cadillac F1 project have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a monumental task, they are conscious there will not be enough hours in the day.
The technical director, Nick Chester, joined the newly formed project in the spring of 2023 shortly after it was created, when the team were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its core since then and gets a wry smile when reflecting on the ride.
“There might be five minutes thinking back at what you have accomplished and think: ‘Wow, what an achievement what we have built in less than three years,’” Chester states. “But then the very next instant you realize: ‘Yeah, there is still a significant amount to do.’”
A Unique Challenge
The CTO achieved victories at the Renault team in Fernando Alonso’s victorious seasons of 2005 and 2006 and was in control of technical direction at the then-new Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but no previous experience has truly matched the task of introducing the iconic American Cadillac brand, a manufacturer-backed entry sponsored by the parent company, General Motors Corporation, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Establishing an F1 team from scratch, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he says. “It's unparalleled. In an established team you don’t get the possibility to change organizational mindset.”
With each passing day that goes by minds are increasingly concentrated on the approaching moment of truth in the Australian GP and goals are being managed.
“One must presume that a brand-new squad joining the grid is going to be last but simply getting on to the grid will be an feat in itself,” Lowdon noted recently and while Chester agreed with this sentiment he thought the organization had a point to prove as well.
“Our primary goal we intend to prove is that we belong on the grid,” Chester explains. “So that we arrive and we perform competently. We aim to demonstrate that this is a professional operation executing the proper actions on the track. Once we’ve shown that we are a legitimate team, then we will focus on progression from there on.”
Driver Lineup and Recruitment Push
In August they signed Checo Pérez and Valtteri as their drivers for the 2026 season, a tandem distinguished for their invaluable experience in operating at the leading positions in two top-tier teams, Red Bull and the Mercedes team, and the Finnish driver expressed the sentiment of fighting spirit.
“Naturally, we are pragmatic,” he commented. “We have a huge amount of work to do, and it will likely be most likely a difficult start, because this is Formula One. But our goal isn't to finish last. I am confident given this organization, with this group, these personnel, there is every reason that we shouldn’t be able to advance swiftly up to the pace and enjoy some success.”
To realize that ambition hiring has been in full swing, with staff now reaching over 400 and planned to hit the goal of 600 rapidly. Alongside their present headquarters at the Silverstone circuit, the squad are in the process of building an main base at Fishers, Indiana in Indianapolis and there is the GM plant in North Carolina, where they are building the facility to build the new engine, scheduled for 2029 – in the meantime they will run power from Ferrari – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany. It is a intricate organisation, contrary to the movement in F1 for increased consolidation, and has prompted the new cultural approach to which the CTO referred.
NASA Model
“It's closely based on the Apollo program,” stated the team principal shortly before the Silverstone race in July. “We are pragmatic, we recognize how challenging it is. The schedules, they’re super, super, super short. Well, it's not a space expedition, but it can seem that way.”
So they have embraced, as opposed to the conventional chain of command, a flat management structure comparable to that of NASA's, where there were a range of project teams all working on various components of the project at a variety of locations.
“When you must follow a protocol where an issue arises and they escalate it to their manager, that manager communicates with a manager in another department, it is relayed back, it becomes inefficient,” notes Nick Chester. “So we empower team members to take charge. Moving away from management approval for everything is so much cleaner and more rapid.”
Upcoming Challenges
The effectiveness of this flexible strategy will be tested in the pressure of racing in 2026 and there is a considerable amount on the line for the sport, too. The Cadillac team have taken on as their test driver the 25-year-old Californian Colton Herta
