Approximately one year in the past at the Nevada Grand Prix, Cadillac were finally awarded the official approval as F1's most recent entry for the 2026 season. Building the organization from the ground up has required a intense pace of work that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo moon landing. As Formula One descends on the Vegas strip this weekend, Cadillac are aware time is getting tight.
The Race Against Time to Melbourne
At the season finale of the campaign to be staged in the America, with just over three months to go before they take to the track for the inaugural time in Melbourne at the first race of 2026, the Cadillac F1 project have made significant progress but, in what must seem like a monumental challenge, they are conscious there will never be adequate time.
The technical director, Nick Chester, joined the newly formed project in early 2023 not long after it was formed, when the organization were without even an official entry. He has been at its core from that point and has a amused expression when thinking about the experience.
“You can have five minutes looking back at what you have accomplished and think: ‘Incredible, how impressive what we’ve done in under three years,’” Chester states. “Then the next minute you think: ‘Well, there is still a significant amount to do.’”
A Unique Challenge
Nick Chester enjoyed success at Renault in Fernando Alonso’s victorious seasons of 2005/2006 and was in command of technical direction at the then-new Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but no previous experience has been quite like the challenge of launching the quintessentially American Cadillac name, a factory team backed by the owner, GM, into F1.
“Creating an Formula One team from nothing, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” Chester remarks. “It is like nothing else. In an existing team you won't have the opportunity to change cultural approach.”
With each day that elapses thoughts are sharper on the impending moment of truth in Melbourne and goals are being managed.
“You have to assume that any incoming team coming in is going to be last but merely participating will be an achievement in itself,” Lowdon stated earlier this year and while Nick Chester echoed this he felt the squad had a statement to make as well.
“Our primary goal we want to show is that we belong on the grid,” he emphasizes. “In order that we turn up and we function efficiently. We want to show that we are a serious contender doing the proper actions on the circuit. When we prove that we’re really credible, then we want to show improvement from there on.”
Racing Talent and Hiring Drive
In late summer they recruited Checo Pérez and Valtteri Bottas as their drivers for 2026, a pair distinguished for their vast knowledge in competing at the sharp end in two top-tier teams, Red Bull and Mercedes-AMG, and Valtteri Bottas echoed the mood of determined optimism.
“Of course, we are pragmatic,” Bottas stated. “We have a massive task to do, and it’s going to be probably a challenging beginning, because it is F1. But we aren't joining to stay at the back. In my view with this setup, with this team, these personnel, there’s no reason why we can't manage to advance swiftly to a competitive level and enjoy some success.”
To achieve that goal recruitment has been in top gear, with staff now reaching over 400 and scheduled to hit the objective of 600 members swiftly. Alongside their existing facility at Silverstone, the organization are in the midst of completing an headquarters at Fishers in Indy and there is the GM works in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are building the center to produce the new engine, set for 2029 – until then they will run power from Ferrari – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne. It is a sophisticated organization, at odds with the direction in the sport for more centralization, and has prompted the innovative team culture to which Chester referred to.
Apollo Inspiration
“It's closely based on the Apollo program,” said the team principal just before the British Grand Prix in July. “We have a clear-eyed view, we recognize how challenging it is. The deadlines, they’re super, super, super short. Alright, it's not a space expedition, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have implemented, instead of the usual hierarchical system, a non-hierarchical approach similar to that of NASA's, where there were a range of specialist groups all working on various components of the program across a variety of locations.
“If you have to go through a protocol where someone has a problem and they escalate it to their supervisor, that leader communicates with a leader at a different location, it travels back down, it becomes inefficient,” explains Nick Chester. “We give authority to staff to take charge. Moving away from management approval for each action is much smoother and faster.”
What Lies Ahead
The effectiveness of this agile strategy will be tested in the intensity of Grand Prix in 2026 and there is a significant degree on the line for Formula One, too. The Cadillac team have recruited as their test driver the emerging American Colton Herta
