Just over twelve months ago at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately granted the green light as the world of Formula One's newest entry for the 2026 season. Establishing the squad from nothing has involved a frenetic operating tempo that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the Apollo program. As Formula One converges on the Vegas strip this race weekend, Cadillac know the clock is ticking.
The Tight Timeline to Melbourne
At the final race of the campaign to be held in the America, with approximately 100 days to go before they make their debut for the maiden outing in Australia at the 2026 opener, the Cadillac F1 project have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a monumental challenge, they are cognizant there will not be enough hours in the day.
The CTO, Nick Chester, joined the nascent project in early 2023 shortly after it was formed, when the organization were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its core ever since and gets a knowing grin when considering the journey.
“You can have a brief moment reflecting at what the team has achieved and think: ‘Wow, isn’t this fantastic what we have built in less than three years,’” Chester states. “Then the following moment you think: ‘Yes, we still have a significant amount to do.’”
A Unique Challenge
The CTO had success at the Renault team in Alonso's title-winning 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 been quite like the task of launching the all-American Cadillac marque, a manufacturer-backed entry backed by the corporate entity, GM, into Formula One.
“Establishing an F1 team from nothing, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he observes. “There's nothing comparable. In an existing team you rarely get the opportunity to change team culture.”
With every day that elapses focus are sharper on the looming critical moment in Australia and expectations are being handled.
“One must presume that any new team entering the sport is going to be last but simply getting on to the grid will be an achievement in itself,” Lowdon stated earlier this year and while the CTO shared this view he believed the squad had a reputation to build as well.
“Our primary goal we aim to demonstrate is that we belong on the grid,” he says. “In order that we show up and we function efficiently. We aim to demonstrate that we are a serious contender doing the proper actions on the race track. Once we’ve shown that our credentials are solid, then we want to show forward movement subsequently.”
Driver Lineup and Recruitment Drive
In late summer they signed Sergio Pérez and Bottas as their drivers for the 2026 season, a tandem notable for their vast knowledge in competing at the leading positions in two top-tier teams, the Red Bull team and Mercedes-AMG, and Bottas expressed the mood of fighting spirit.
“Of course, we are pragmatic,” he said. “We have a mountain of work to do, and we expect almost certainly a challenging beginning, because this is Formula One. But we aren't joining to remain at the rear. I am confident given this organization, with this group, this staff, there is every reason that we can't manage to progress rapidly to a competitive level and achieve good results.”
To that end hiring has been in overdrive, with employees now reaching more than 400 and scheduled to reach the target of 600 members rapidly. Alongside their existing facility at the UK base, the organization are in the phase of completing an main base at Fishers in Indianapolis and there is the General Motors facility in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are developing the facility to produce the power unit, scheduled for the 2029 season – until then they will use Ferrari engines – and the aerodynamic facility in Cologne, Germany. It is a sophisticated structure, contrary to the direction in F1 for increased consolidation, and has led to the new cultural approach to which the CTO referred to.
NASA Model
“It's closely based on the Apollo project,” said Lowdon shortly before the Silverstone race in July. “We are pragmatic, we recognize how challenging it is. The deadlines, they’re super, super, super short. Well, it's not a space expedition, but it can seem that way.”
So they have implemented, rather than the traditional management structure, a flat management structure similar to that of the space agency's, where there were a range of specialist groups all tackling distinct elements of the program across a different facilities.
“In a system where you follow a process where someone has a problem and they escalate it to their manager, that manager communicates with a supervisor in another department, it travels back down, it’s super slow,” notes Nick Chester. “Therefore we enable team members to handle things directly. Avoiding hierarchical consent for everything is far more efficient and faster.”
What Lies Ahead
The success of this nimble methodology will be tested in the intensity of Grand Prix next season and there is a significant degree at stake for Formula One, too. Cadillac have recruited as their test driver the emerging American Colton Herta
