Just over a full year in the past at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were at last given the official approval as the world of Formula One's newest participant for the 2026 season. Constructing the organization from scratch has entailed a hectic work rate that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the Apollo program. As Formula One converges on Las Vegas this weekend, Cadillac understand the deadline is approaching.
The Race Against Time to Australia
At the season finale of the campaign to be held in the US, with just over three months to go before they hit the circuit for the inaugural time in Melbourne at the first race of 2026, Cadillac have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a monumental challenge, they are cognizant there will not be sufficient time.
The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, became part of the embryonic project in March 2023 not long after it was established, when the team were without even an official entry. He has been at its heart ever since and gets a knowing grin when considering the ride.
“You might get a brief moment reflecting at what the team has achieved and say: ‘Amazing, what an achievement what we have built in a short three-year period,’” he says. “Then the very next instant you think: ‘Well, we’ve still got a significant amount to do.’”
A Unique Task
Chester achieved victories at the Renault team in the driver Fernando Alonso's championship-winning campaigns of 2005/2006 and was in control of technical development at the then-new Mercedes Formula E team, but no previous experience has quite compared with the challenge of bringing the iconic American Cadillac name, a manufacturer-backed entry supported by the owner, GM, into Formula One.
“Establishing an grand prix team from scratch, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he says. “It's unparalleled. In an established team you rarely get the opportunity to transform organizational mindset.”
With every day that passes focus are sharper on the approaching moment of truth in Australia and expectations are being set realistically.
“One must presume that any new team joining the grid is going to be last but merely participating will be an achievement in itself,” Lowdon noted this year and while the CTO agreed with this sentiment he believed the organization had a statement to make as well.
“The initial objective we want to show is that we deserve to be there,” he emphasizes. “So that we arrive and we perform competently. We want to show that we are a serious contender executing the correct procedures on the track. Once we’ve shown that we are a legitimate team, then we aim to demonstrate forward movement subsequently.”
Racing Talent and Recruitment Drive
In late summer they recruited Sergio Pérez and Bottas as their pilots for 2026, a tandem notable for their priceless expertise in performing at the leading positions in two top-tier teams, Red Bull and Mercedes-AMG, and Valtteri Bottas reflected the mood of combative optimism.
“Of course, we have a realistic outlook,” Bottas stated. “We have a huge amount of work to do, and it will likely be almost certainly a tough opening, because this is Formula One. But our goal isn't to remain at the rear. I believe with this structure, with this group, these personnel, it's entirely possible we won't be able to advance swiftly up to the pace and taste victory.”
To realize that ambition recruitment has been in top gear, with employees now reaching over 400 and scheduled to hit the objective of 600 members quickly. Alongside their present headquarters at the Silverstone circuit, the squad are in the process of completing an HQ at Fishers in Indianapolis and there is the GM plant in Charlotte, where they are building the facility to produce the power unit, planned for the 2029 season – in the meantime they will operate with power from Ferrari – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Germany. It is a sophisticated structure, different from the trend in Formula One for greater centralisation, and has prompted the fresh organizational mindset to which Chester alluded.
Apollo Blueprint
“We've drawn heavily from the Apollo project,” remarked Graeme Lowdon shortly before the British GP in the summer. “We’re realistic, we recognize how challenging it is. The deadlines, are extremely compressed. Well, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have implemented, rather than the usual hierarchical system, a flat management structure comparable to that of the space agency's, where there were a assortment of project teams all focusing on various components of the program at a multiple sites.
“If you have to go through a protocol where a challenge emerges and they escalate it to their supervisor, that supervisor consults a supervisor at a different location, it is relayed back, it’s super slow,” says Nick Chester. “So we empower team members to take charge. Moving away from hierarchical consent for each action is much smoother and quicker.”
Upcoming Challenges
The success of this nimble approach will be evaluated in the heat of competition when the season begins and there is a significant degree riding on this for Formula One, too. Cadillac have recruited as their reserve driver the young American Colton Herta
