Approximately one year previously at the Nevada Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were ultimately granted the official approval as the world of Formula One's newest entry for 2026. Establishing the team from scratch has required a hectic pace of work that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo program. As F1 descends on Vegas this race weekend, Cadillac understand the clock is ticking.
The Countdown to Australia
At the final race of the championship to be hosted in the United States, with around 100 days to go before they take to the track for the maiden outing in Melbourne at the first race of 2026, the Cadillac F1 project have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a monumental challenge, they are cognizant there will never be enough hours in the day.
The technical director, Nick Chester, became part of the newly formed team in March 2023 shortly after it was created, when the team were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its center ever since and enjoys a knowing grin when reflecting on the journey.
“There might be a brief moment thinking back at what the team has achieved and go: ‘Wow, what an achievement what we’ve done in less than three years,’” Chester states. “Then the next minute you realize: ‘Yeah, we’ve still got quite a lot to do.’”
A One-of-a-Kind Opportunity
Chester had success at the Renault team in Alonso's title-winning years of 2005/2006 and was in charge of technical development at the new Mercedes Formula E team, but nothing has been quite like the task of bringing the iconic American Cadillac brand, a works entry backed by the parent company, GM, into Formula One.
“Building an Formula One team from scratch, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” Chester remarks. “There's nothing comparable. In an existing team you rarely get the opportunity to alter cultural approach.”
With each day that goes by minds are sharper on the approaching critical moment in Melbourne and targets are being managed.
“You have to assume that any incoming team entering the sport is likely to start at the back but simply getting on to the grid will be an accomplishment in itself,” Lowdon stated this year and while Nick Chester shared this view he thought the team had a point to prove as well.
“Our primary goal we aim to demonstrate is that we belong on the grid,” he emphasizes. “So we arrive and we function efficiently. We want to show that we’re a proper team doing the proper actions on the race track. After we’ve shown that we’re really credible, then we want to show forward movement after that.”
Driver Lineup and Hiring Drive
In the summer they signed Sergio Pérez and Valtteri as their drivers for the 2026 season, a tandem notable for their vast knowledge in competing at the leading positions in two of the sport’s biggest teams, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes, and the Finnish driver reflected the attitude of determined optimism.
“Of course, we’re realistic,” he said. “There’s going to be a massive task to do, and it will likely be most likely a difficult start, because it is F1. But we’re not there to finish last. In my view given this organization, with this group, these personnel, there’s no reason why we won't be able to advance swiftly up to the pace and enjoy some success.”
To realize that ambition recruitment has been in top gear, with personnel now reaching over 400 and intended to attain the goal of 600 members swiftly. Complementing their existing facility at the UK base, the squad are in the midst of building an HQ at Fishers in the Indianapolis area and there is the GM plant in North Carolina, where they are developing the plant to build the 2029 engine, set for 2029 – in the meantime they will run Ferrari engines – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany. It is a sophisticated organisation, different from the trend in the sport for greater centralisation, and has prompted the fresh organizational mindset to which Chester referred to.
Apollo Inspiration
“We've drawn heavily from the Apollo project,” said Lowdon ahead of the British GP in mid-season. “We have a clear-eyed view, we recognize how challenging it is. The deadlines, they’re super, super, super short. OK, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but it feels like it sometimes.”
So they have implemented, instead of the traditional management structure, a flat management structure similar to that of Nasa’s, where there were a assortment of project teams all focusing on various components of the program across a multiple sites.
“When you must follow a process where someone has a problem and they escalate it to their supervisor, that manager talks to a supervisor somewhere else, it is relayed back, the process is very slow,” notes Nick Chester. “Therefore we enable staff to really get on with it. Avoiding hierarchical consent for each action is much smoother and quicker.”
Upcoming Challenges
The effectiveness of this agile methodology will be evaluated in the heat of competition when the season begins and there is a considerable amount on the line for the sport, too. Cadillac have taken on as their development driver the emerging American Colton Herta
