A little more than twelve months in the past at the Vegas Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were finally given the official approval as F1's newest participant for 2026. Building the squad from nothing has required a hectic operating tempo that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo moon landing. As Formula One descends on Las Vegas this weekend, the team are aware the deadline is approaching.
The Race Against Time to Australia
At the final race of the season to be held in the US, with just over 100 days to go before they hit the circuit for the maiden outing in Melbourne at the first race of 2026, Cadillac have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a monumental endeavor, they are aware there will never be sufficient time.
The CTO, Nick Chester, joined the newly formed project in March 2023 soon after it was formed, when the squad were without even an approved entry. He has been at its center ever since and enjoys a amused expression when reflecting on the journey.
“There might be a short period thinking back at what the team has achieved and think: ‘Incredible, isn’t this fantastic what we’ve done in a short three-year period,’” Chester states. “Then the next minute you consider: ‘Yeah, there is still a significant amount to do.’”
A Unique Task
The CTO had success at the Renault team in the driver Fernando Alonso's victorious years of 2005/2006 and was in control of engineering strategy at the recently formed Mercedes Formula E team, but nothing has truly matched the challenge of launching the all-American Cadillac brand, a works entry supported by the corporate entity, GM, into Formula One.
“Establishing an F1 team from the ground up, when will you ever have the possibility to do that?” Chester remarks. “There's nothing comparable. In an existing team you won't have the opportunity to alter organizational mindset.”
With each passing day that elapses minds are sharper on the looming decisive point in the Australian GP and goals are being handled.
“It's reasonable to expect that any incoming team coming in is probably going to finish last but just making it to the starting line will be an accomplishment in itself,” Graeme Lowdon stated earlier this year and while Chester shared this view he thought the team had a point to prove 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 aim to demonstrate that we’re a proper team executing the proper actions on the race track. Once we prove that we’re really credible, then we want to show forward movement after that.”
Driver Lineup and Recruitment Push
In the summer they recruited Sergio Perez and Valtteri as their racers for 2026, a pair distinguished for their priceless expertise in performing at the leading positions in two championship-winning squads, the Red Bull team and the Mercedes team, and the Finnish driver echoed the mood of fighting spirit.
“Of course, we’re realistic,” he said. “We have a mountain of work to do, and it will likely be probably a difficult start, because it is F1. But we aren't joining to finish last. I am confident with this structure, with these individuals, these people, there is every reason that we shouldn’t be able to progress rapidly up to the pace and enjoy some success.”
To achieve that goal hiring has been in full swing, with personnel now at over 400 and planned to hit the goal of 600 swiftly. Complementing their existing facility at the UK base, the team are in the midst of building an main base at Fishers, Indiana in Indy and there is the GM plant in North Carolina, where they are constructing the center to build the new engine, planned for 2029 – in the meantime they will operate with Ferrari engines – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany. It is a sophisticated organization, at odds with the trend in Formula One for increased consolidation, and has led to the fresh organizational mindset to which Chester referred.
Space Mission Model
“It’s highly modelled on the Apollo project,” said Graeme Lowdon shortly before the British GP in July. “We are pragmatic, we understand how challenging it is. The timelines, are extremely compressed. OK, we aren't launching a lunar mission, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have embraced, instead of the traditional management structure, a flat management structure similar to that of Nasa’s, where there were a range of specialist groups all tackling distinct elements of the project across a multiple sites.
“When you must follow a process where a challenge emerges and they raise it up to their supervisor, that manager communicates with a leader somewhere else, it is relayed back, it becomes inefficient,” notes Chester. “We give authority to people to handle things directly. Eliminating management approval for each action is far more efficient and quicker.”
What Lies Ahead
The success of this flexible approach will be evaluated in the heat of competition in 2026 and there is no little amount on the line for the sport, too. The Cadillac team have signed as their test driver the emerging Californian Colton Herta
