Just over one year previously at the Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately granted the go-ahead as F1's latest participant for 2026. Establishing the squad from the ground up has involved a intense pace of work that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo program. As the sport descends on Vegas this race weekend, Cadillac understand the clock is ticking.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the final race of the championship to be staged in the US, with just over three months to go before they take to the track for the maiden outing in Melbourne at the 2026 opener, Cadillac have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a monumental challenge, they are conscious there will not be adequate time.
The CTO, Nick Chester, became part of the embryonic operation in March 2023 soon after it was formed, when the squad were without even an approved entry. He has been at its center since then and enjoys a amused expression when reflecting on the ride.
“There might be five minutes reflecting at what the team has achieved and think: ‘Wow, how impressive what we have built in a short three-year period,’” Chester states. “And then the following moment you think: ‘Well, we still have quite a lot to do.’”
A Unique Task
Nick Chester had success at the Renault team in Alonso's title-winning seasons of 2005/2006 and was in control of engineering strategy at the then-new Mercedes electric racing team, but no previous experience has been quite like the challenge of launching the all-American Cadillac brand, a manufacturer-backed entry sponsored by the owner, General Motors Corporation, into F1.
“Establishing an grand prix team from the ground up, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” Chester remarks. “It's unparalleled. In an existing team you rarely get the possibility to alter team culture.”
With each passing day that passes focus are sharper on the approaching moment of truth in the Australian GP and expectations are being set realistically.
“One must presume that any incoming team coming in is probably going to finish last but simply getting on to the grid will be an achievement in itself,” Lowdon commented this year and while Chester shared this view he felt the organization had a point to prove as well.
“Our primary goal we intend to prove is that we belong on the grid,” he emphasizes. “So that we turn up and we function efficiently. We want to show that we’re a proper team doing the correct procedures on the race track. Once we’ve shown that our credentials are solid, then we want to show improvement from there on.”
Pilot Selection and Team Building Push
In August they signed Checo Pérez and Valtteri as their drivers for the 2026 season, a duo notable for their invaluable experience in performing at the leading positions in two of the sport’s biggest teams, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes, and Valtteri Bottas expressed the attitude of fighting spirit.
“Of course, we have a realistic outlook,” Bottas stated. “We face a massive task to do, and it’s going to be almost certainly a tough opening, because it's the top level of motorsport. But our goal isn't to remain at the rear. In my view given this organization, with this team, these personnel, it's entirely possible we shouldn’t be able to advance swiftly to a competitive level and taste victory.”
To achieve that goal hiring has been in top gear, with employees now at over 400 and scheduled to reach the target of 600 swiftly. Alongside their current base 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 Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are constructing the center to build the 2029 engine, set for 2029 – until then they will run power from Ferrari – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Cologne. It is a intricate structure, at odds with the movement in the sport for more centralization, and has inspired the fresh organizational mindset to which the CTO alluded.
Space Mission Blueprint
“It's closely based on the Apollo project,” remarked the team principal shortly before the British GP in July. “We’re realistic, we recognize how challenging it is. The timelines, are incredibly tight. Alright, we aren't launching a lunar mission, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have implemented, as opposed to the conventional chain of command, a non-hierarchical approach similar to that of NASA's, where there were a assortment of specialist groups all focusing on distinct elements of the project at a different facilities.
“If you have to go through a process where someone has a problem and they raise it up to their supervisor, that leader consults a leader in another department, it is relayed back, it becomes inefficient,” notes the CTO. “So we empower team members to handle things directly. Moving away from hierarchical consent for all decisions is far more efficient and quicker.”
The Future
The efficacy of this nimble strategy will be evaluated in the pressure of racing next season and there is no little amount on the line for F1, too. Cadillac have recruited as their reserve driver the young Californian Colton Herta
