Approximately twelve months ago at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were finally granted the official approval as the world of Formula One's newest entrant for 2026. Establishing the team from nothing has involved a intense work rate that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo moon landing. As the sport arrives on the Vegas strip this race weekend, the team understand the clock is ticking.
The Countdown to Australia
At the last event of the championship to be hosted in the America, with around 100 days to go before they hit the circuit for the first time in Melbourne at the 2026 season opener, the Cadillac F1 project have made significant progress but, in what must seem like a monumental challenge, they are conscious there will not be sufficient time.
The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, joined the nascent project in March 2023 shortly after it was created, when the organization were without even an official entry. He has been at its core ever since and gets a knowing grin when reflecting on the ride.
“You can have a short period reflecting at what you have accomplished and go: ‘Amazing, isn’t this fantastic what the team has created in under three years,’” he says. “Then the next minute you realize: ‘Well, there is still a significant amount to do.’”
A Unique Challenge
The CTO had success at Renault in Alonso's championship-winning seasons of the mid-2000s and was in charge of engineering strategy at the then-new Mercedes electric racing team, but nothing has been quite like the task of launching the all-American Cadillac brand, a factory team 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?” he observes. “It is like nothing else. In an well-set team you don’t get the opportunity to alter cultural approach.”
With each day that elapses minds are more focused on the approaching moment of truth in Australia and goals are being managed.
“One must presume that any new team coming in is likely to start at the back but simply getting on to the grid will be an feat in itself,” the team principal stated this year and while Nick Chester shared this view he felt the squad had a statement to make as well.
“The first thing we aim to demonstrate is that we belong on the grid,” he says. “So that we show up and we operate well. We aim to demonstrate that we are a serious contender executing the correct procedures on the circuit. Once we’ve shown that we’re really credible, then we aim to demonstrate forward movement after that.”
Pilot Selection and Recruitment Effort
In the summer they recruited Sergio Perez and Bottas as their pilots for the 2026 season, a pair remarkable for their vast knowledge in competing at the leading positions in two top-tier teams, the Red Bull team and Mercedes-AMG, and Valtteri Bottas echoed the sentiment of fighting spirit.
“Of course, we are pragmatic,” he commented. “We have a huge amount of work to do, and it’s going to be most likely a difficult start, because it is F1. But we’re not there to finish last. I am confident with this setup, with these individuals, these personnel, it's entirely possible we won't be able to get relatively quickly to the front and enjoy some success.”
To that end hiring has been in overdrive, with employees now reaching in excess of 400 and planned to attain the objective of six hundred swiftly. Complementing their present headquarters at Silverstone, the squad are in the process of building an HQ at Fishers, Indiana in Indy and there is the General Motors facility in North Carolina, where they are constructing the center to manufacture the new engine, scheduled for the 2029 season – for now they will run power from Ferrari – and the aerodynamic facility in Cologne. It is a intricate organisation, at odds with the trend in F1 for more centralization, and has led to the innovative team culture to which Chester referred to.
Space Mission Model
“It's closely based on the NASA moon mission,” stated Graeme Lowdon ahead of the British Grand Prix in mid-season. “We have a clear-eyed view, we recognize 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 embraced, as opposed to the traditional management structure, a decentralized management comparable to that of the space agency's, where there were a range of specialist groups all working on various components of the mission at a variety of locations.
“In a system where you follow a process where someone has a problem and they raise it up to their supervisor, that leader talks to a supervisor at a different location, it is relayed back, it becomes inefficient,” says the CTO. “So we empower staff to handle things directly. Moving away from hierarchical consent for everything is much smoother and faster.”
What Lies Ahead
The efficacy of this flexible methodology will be proven in the heat of competition next season and there is a considerable amount riding on this for Formula One, too. The Cadillac team have signed as their reserve driver the emerging American Colton Herta
