Approximately one year in the past at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were at last given the official approval as the world of Formula One's newest participant for 2026. Constructing the team from scratch has entailed a intense pace of work that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the NASA lunar mission. As Formula One arrives on the Vegas strip this race weekend, Cadillac understand the clock is ticking.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the final race of the season to be hosted in the America, with just over 100 days to go before they take to the track for the inaugural time in Australia at the 2026 season opener, the Cadillac F1 project have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a sisyphean task, they are conscious there will never be enough hours in the day.
The CTO, Nick Chester, joined the nascent team in early 2023 shortly after it was established, when the team were without even an approved entry. He has been at its center from that point and has a knowing grin when considering the ride.
“There might be a short period reflecting at what the team has achieved and go: ‘Incredible, how impressive what the team has created in a short three-year period,’” he says. “Then the next minute you consider: ‘Well, there is still a significant amount to do.’”
A One-of-a-Kind Challenge
The CTO enjoyed success at Renault in Alonso's victorious years of 2005/2006 and was in charge of technical development at the recently formed Mercedes electric racing team, but no other project has truly matched the task of launching the all-American Cadillac marque, a manufacturer-backed entry backed by the owner, GM, into F1.
“Creating an grand prix team from scratch, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” he observes. “It's unparalleled. In an existing team you rarely get the possibility to change team culture.”
With each day that elapses minds are increasingly concentrated on the impending decisive point in Melbourne and targets are being managed.
“You have to assume that any incoming team entering the sport is going to be last but merely participating will be an achievement in itself,” Graeme Lowdon stated recently and while Nick Chester agreed with this sentiment he thought the organization had a point to prove as well.
“Our primary goal we want to show is that we should be there,” he says. “In order that we turn up and we function efficiently. We aim to demonstrate that this is a professional operation doing the correct procedures on the circuit. When we’ve shown that we’re really credible, then we want to show forward movement after that.”
Racing Talent and Hiring Effort
In August they contracted Sergio Pérez and Bottas as their drivers for 2026, a duo remarkable for their priceless expertise in performing at the leading positions in two championship-winning squads, Red Bull and Mercedes, and the Finnish driver expressed the attitude of fighting spirit.
“Of course, we’re realistic,” he said. “We have a mountain of work to do, and it’s going to be most likely a difficult start, because it's the top level of motorsport. But we’re not there to remain at the rear. I believe with this setup, with these individuals, these people, there is every reason that we won't be able to advance swiftly up to the pace and enjoy some success.”
To realize that ambition staff acquisition has been in overdrive, with employees now up to over 400 and intended to attain the goal of six hundred swiftly. In addition to their current base at the UK base, the team are in the phase of completing an HQ at Fishers in Indy and there is the GM works in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are developing the facility to manufacture the 2029 engine, set for the 2029 season – for now they will use Ferrari engines – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Germany. It is a intricate organisation, contrary to the direction in the sport for greater centralisation, and has prompted the innovative team culture to which Chester alluded.
NASA Inspiration
“We've drawn heavily from the Apollo program,” said the team principal just before the Silverstone race in July. “We are pragmatic, we understand how challenging it is. The timelines, are incredibly tight. OK, it's not a space expedition, but it feels like it sometimes.”
So they have implemented, as opposed to the usual hierarchical system, a flat management structure comparable to that of the space agency's, where there were a assortment of specialist groups all working on different aspects of the program across a variety of locations.
“If you have to go through a process where someone has a problem and they report it to their supervisor, that manager consults a manager in another department, it goes back down the chain, it’s super slow,” explains Chester. “So we empower team members to handle things directly. Eliminating management approval for everything is much smoother and faster.”
What Lies Ahead
The efficacy of this flexible approach will be tested in the heat of competition next season and there is no little amount on the line for Formula One, too. The Cadillac team have signed as their test driver the emerging American Colton Herta
