Approximately a full year ago at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately given the green light as Formula One’s newest participant for the 2026 season. Building the team from the ground up has entailed a intense pace of work that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo program. As F1 arrives on Vegas this weekend, the team are aware the deadline is approaching.
The Race Against Time to Melbourne
At the season finale of the season to be hosted in the United States, with approximately a hundred days to go before they hit the circuit for the inaugural time in Melbourne at the first race of 2026, Cadillac have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a sisyphean endeavor, they are conscious there will never be sufficient time.
The technical director, Nick Chester, became part of the newly formed team in the spring of 2023 shortly after it was established, when the organization were without even an approved entry. He has been at its heart from that point and gets a wry smile when reflecting on the ride.
“You might get a brief moment thinking back at what the team has achieved and say: ‘Amazing, how impressive what we have built in a short three-year period,’” he notes. “But then the following moment you realize: ‘Well, we still have a significant amount to do.’”
A Unique Opportunity
Nick Chester had success at the Renault team in Fernando Alonso’s victorious seasons of 2005/2006 and was in command of engineering strategy at the then-new Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but no other project has quite compared with the task of bringing the all-American Cadillac marque, a manufacturer-backed entry supported by the corporate entity, GM, into Formula One.
“Creating an grand prix team from nothing, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” he observes. “It is like nothing else. In an established team you won't have the possibility to alter cultural approach.”
With each day that passes thoughts are sharper on the impending decisive point in Melbourne and expectations are being managed.
“You have to assume that a brand-new squad coming in is likely to start at the back but merely participating will be an achievement in itself,” Lowdon commented earlier this year and while the CTO agreed with this sentiment he believed the organization had a reputation to build as well.
“The initial objective we aim to demonstrate is that we belong on the grid,” he emphasizes. “In order that we show up and we function efficiently. We seek to prove that this is a professional operation doing the right things on the circuit. When we have demonstrated that we’re really credible, then we aim to demonstrate improvement from there on.”
Racing Talent and Hiring Drive
In August they contracted Checo Pérez and Valtteri Bottas as their racers for 2026, a duo notable for their priceless expertise in operating at the sharp end in two top-tier teams, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes-AMG, and Valtteri Bottas echoed the attitude of fighting spirit.
“Naturally, we’re realistic,” he said. “We have a mountain of work to do, and we expect most likely a challenging beginning, because this is Formula One. But we’re not there to remain at the rear. I am confident with this setup, with these individuals, these personnel, there is every reason that we can't manage to advance swiftly up to the pace and achieve good results.”
To realize that ambition hiring has been in top gear, with employees now up to in excess of 400 and planned to hit the goal of 600 rapidly. In addition to their existing facility at the UK base, the squad are in the midst of building an HQ at Fishers in Indy and there is the GM plant in Charlotte, where they are building the center to manufacture the power unit, set for 2029 – for now they will run Ferrari power units – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Germany. It is a sophisticated organization, different from the trend in F1 for increased consolidation, and has prompted the innovative team culture to which Nick Chester referred to.
Apollo Model
“It’s highly modelled on the NASA moon mission,” stated Lowdon shortly before the Silverstone race in mid-season. “We’re realistic, we recognize how difficult it is. The schedules, are incredibly tight. Alright, it's not a space expedition, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have adopted, instead of the conventional chain of command, a flat management structure similar to that of NASA's, where there were a variety of Apollo teams all working on distinct elements of the program across a different facilities.
“If you have to go through a protocol where an issue arises and they escalate it to their supervisor, that manager communicates with a leader in another department, it travels back down, the process is very slow,” explains Nick Chester. “We give authority to team members to handle things directly. Avoiding hierarchical consent for all decisions is much smoother and more rapid.”
The Future
The efficacy of this flexible methodology will be tested in the intensity of Grand Prix when the season begins and there is a considerable amount at stake for Formula One, too. Cadillac have signed as their development driver the emerging American Colton Herta
