A little more than one year in the past at the Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately given the go-ahead as F1's most recent entry for 2026. Establishing the team from scratch has required a hectic pace of work that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo program. As F1 descends on Las Vegas this weekend, Cadillac understand the clock is ticking.
The Tight Timeline to Melbourne
At the last event of the campaign to be staged in the US, with just over 100 days to go before they make their debut for the maiden outing in Melbourne at the 2026 season opener, Cadillac have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a never-ending endeavor, they are aware there will never be sufficient time.
The technical director, Nick Chester, came aboard the embryonic operation in early 2023 soon after it was created, when the squad were without even an official entry. He has been at its center ever since and gets a knowing grin when reflecting on the experience.
“You might get a brief moment thinking back at what you have accomplished and go: ‘Amazing, isn’t this fantastic what we have built in a short three-year period,’” Chester states. “Then the following moment you consider: ‘Yes, we’ve still got quite a lot to do.’”
A Unique Task
The CTO had success at the Renault team in Alonso's title-winning seasons of the mid-2000s and was in charge of engineering strategy at the then-new Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but nothing has been quite like the task of launching the all-American Cadillac brand, a factory team sponsored by the parent company, General Motors Corporation, into F1.
“Creating an F1 team from scratch, when will you ever have the possibility to do that?” he observes. “There's nothing comparable. In an existing team you rarely get the possibility to transform cultural approach.”
With each day that elapses thoughts are sharper on the approaching decisive point in Melbourne and goals are being handled.
“One must presume that a brand-new squad joining the grid is going to be last but just making it to the starting line will be an accomplishment in itself,” Lowdon stated recently and while the CTO echoed this he believed the squad had a reputation to build as well.
“The first thing we intend to prove is that we belong on the grid,” Chester explains. “So we turn up and we perform competently. We aim to demonstrate that this is a professional operation executing the right things on the circuit. Once we have demonstrated that we are a legitimate team, then we will focus on improvement subsequently.”
Driver Lineup and Recruitment Drive
In the summer they contracted Checo Pérez and Bottas as their drivers for 2026, a pair notable for their priceless expertise in performing at the front in two top-tier teams, Red Bull and Mercedes, and Valtteri Bottas reflected the attitude of determined optimism.
“Naturally, we are pragmatic,” he said. “We face a massive task to do, and it will likely be almost certainly a tough opening, because it is F1. But our goal isn't to remain at the rear. I am confident with this structure, with this group, these personnel, there’s no reason why we can't manage to advance swiftly up to the pace and enjoy some success.”
To that end hiring has been in full swing, with staff now up to in excess of 400 and scheduled to attain the target of 600 members quickly. In addition to their current base at Silverstone, the team are in the process of completing an HQ at Fishers, Indiana in Indy and there is the GM works in North Carolina, where they are developing the plant to build the power unit, set for the 2029 season – until then they will operate with Ferrari power units – and the aerodynamic facility in Cologne, Germany. It is a sophisticated organization, different from the movement in the sport for more centralization, and has led to the fresh organizational mindset to which Nick Chester referred to.
Apollo Blueprint
“We've drawn heavily from the Apollo program,” stated the team principal just before the Silverstone race in the summer. “We are pragmatic, we understand how challenging it is. The timelines, they’re super, super, super short. OK, we aren't launching a lunar mission, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have adopted, instead of the traditional management structure, a decentralized management comparable to that of Nasa’s, where there were a range of specialist groups all focusing on distinct elements of the mission across a variety of locations.
“If you have to go through a process where an issue arises and they report it to their manager, that leader communicates with a supervisor in another department, it goes back down the chain, it becomes inefficient,” notes Nick Chester. “We give authority to people to take charge. Moving away from managerial sign-off for each action is much smoother and quicker.”
What Lies Ahead
The effectiveness of this agile approach will be proven in the heat of competition in 2026 and there is a significant degree on the line for Formula One, too. The Cadillac team have taken on as their development driver the 25-year-old American Colton Herta
