Approximately twelve months previously at the Nevada Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately granted the green light as Formula One’s most recent entry for 2026. Building the organization from nothing has required a hectic pace of work that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the Apollo program. As F1 converges on the Vegas strip this race weekend, Cadillac know the clock is ticking.
The Race Against Time to Melbourne
At the final race of the championship to be held in the US, with around three months to go before they take to the track for the inaugural time in Australia at the 2026 opener, Cadillac have made significant progress but, in what must seem like a sisyphean endeavor, they are cognizant there will not be sufficient time.
The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, came aboard the nascent team in early 2023 soon after it was formed, when the team were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its heart ever since and enjoys a wry smile when reflecting on the experience.
“There might be a brief moment thinking back at what the team has achieved and go: ‘Wow, how impressive what the team has created in a short three-year period,’” he notes. “Then the next minute you consider: ‘Well, we’ve still got a significant amount to do.’”
A Unique Opportunity
The CTO had success at Renault in the driver Fernando Alonso's victorious seasons of 2005 and 2006 and was in charge of engineering strategy at the then-new Mercedes electric racing team, but no previous experience has truly matched the task of introducing the iconic American Cadillac brand, a factory team supported by the owner, General Motors Corporation, into Formula One.
“Establishing an grand prix team from nothing, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” he says. “There's nothing comparable. In an well-set team you won't have the opportunity to alter organizational mindset.”
With each passing day that passes minds are sharper on the impending decisive point in Australia and targets are being handled.
“One must presume that any incoming team entering the sport is going to be last but just making it to the starting line will be an achievement in itself,” Lowdon stated recently and while Nick Chester shared this view he believed the squad had a point to prove as well.
“The initial objective we intend to prove is that we belong on the grid,” he says. “In order that we show up and we perform competently. We aim to demonstrate that this is a professional operation executing the right things on the circuit. When we’ve shown that we are a legitimate team, then we want to show forward movement subsequently.”
Pilot Selection and Hiring Effort
In late summer they signed Sergio Pérez and Bottas as their drivers for 2026, a tandem remarkable for their invaluable experience in competing at the sharp end in two of the sport’s biggest teams, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes-AMG, and Valtteri Bottas echoed the attitude of determined optimism.
“Naturally, we are pragmatic,” he commented. “We face a massive task to do, and it’s going to be most likely a challenging beginning, because it's the top level of motorsport. But we’re not there to finish last. I believe with this setup, with this group, these personnel, there’s no reason why we won't be able to get relatively quickly to the front and enjoy some success.”
To that end staff acquisition has been in top gear, with staff now reaching over 400 and planned to reach the goal of 600 members quickly. In addition to their existing facility at Silverstone, the team are in the process of finishing an headquarters at the Fishers location in Indy and there is the General Motors facility in North Carolina, where they are building the plant to manufacture the power unit, planned for the 2029 season – for now they will operate with Ferrari power units – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Cologne. It is a sophisticated organisation, at odds with the trend in F1 for increased consolidation, and has inspired the innovative team culture to which the CTO alluded.
Apollo Model
“It's closely based on the Apollo program,” stated the team principal shortly before the British GP in July. “We’re realistic, we recognize how challenging it is. The schedules, are incredibly tight. OK, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but it can seem that way.”
So they have implemented, rather than the traditional management structure, a flat management structure comparable to that of Nasa’s, where there were a range of project teams all working on distinct elements of the project in a different facilities.
“When you must follow a procedure where someone has a problem and they raise it up to their manager, that supervisor communicates with a leader somewhere else, it is relayed back, it’s super slow,” explains the CTO. “We give authority to team members to handle things directly. Eliminating management approval for all decisions is so much cleaner and faster.”
What Lies Ahead
The efficacy of this nimble approach will be evaluated in the pressure of racing when the season begins and there is a considerable amount on the line for Formula One, too. Cadillac have taken on as their reserve driver the 25-year-old Californian Colton Herta
