Just over one year in the past at the Nevada Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were finally given the official approval as Formula One’s most recent entrant for the 2026 season. Constructing the squad from nothing has involved a frenetic work rate that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the Apollo program. As F1 arrives on the Vegas strip this weekend, the team understand the clock is ticking.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the final race of the championship to be held in the US, with around 100 days to go before they hit the circuit for the first time in Australia at the 2026 opener, Cadillac have made significant progress but, in what must seem like a sisyphean challenge, they are conscious there will not be sufficient time.
The technical director, Nick Chester, came aboard the newly formed project in March 2023 soon after it was formed, when the team were without even an approved entry. He has been at its center since then and has a amused expression when considering the ride.
“You can have a brief moment looking back at what you’ve done and go: ‘Incredible, isn’t this fantastic what we’ve done in under three years,’” he says. “Then the following moment you consider: ‘Well, there is still a significant amount to do.’”
A Unique Challenge
Chester had success at the Renault team in Fernando Alonso’s championship-winning years of 2005 and 2006 and was in control of technical direction at the recently formed Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but no previous experience has quite compared with the task of introducing the all-American Cadillac marque, a manufacturer-backed entry supported by the parent company, General Motors, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Building 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 established team you don’t get the opportunity to transform team culture.”
With every day that passes thoughts are sharper on the looming moment of truth in Melbourne and expectations are being managed.
“One must presume that a brand-new squad entering the sport is probably going to finish last but merely participating will be an feat in itself,” Graeme Lowdon commented earlier this year and while Nick Chester shared this view he thought the organization had a statement to make as well.
“Our primary goal we aim to demonstrate is that we belong on the grid,” Chester explains. “So that we arrive and we function efficiently. We want to show that we’re a proper team doing the correct procedures on the circuit. After we’ve shown that we are a legitimate team, then we aim to demonstrate improvement from there on.”
Driver Lineup and Team Building Effort
In the summer they recruited Sergio Pérez and Valtteri as their drivers for the 2026 season, a tandem remarkable for their invaluable experience in performing at the leading positions in two championship-winning squads, Red Bull and Mercedes-AMG, and Bottas reflected the sentiment of combative optimism.
“Naturally, we have a realistic outlook,” Bottas stated. “We have a huge amount of work to do, and it’s going to be almost certainly a difficult start, because it is F1. But our goal isn't to remain at the rear. In my view with this structure, with this group, these people, there is every reason that we shouldn’t be able to advance swiftly to the front and taste victory.”
To that end staff acquisition has been in top gear, with staff now reaching over 400 and intended to attain the goal of 600 members rapidly. Complementing their existing facility at the Silverstone circuit, the organization are in the midst of completing an main base at Fishers in the Indianapolis area and there is the GM plant in North Carolina, where they are developing the center to produce the 2029 engine, scheduled for 2029 – in the meantime they will operate with Ferrari power units – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Cologne. It is a intricate organization, at odds with the trend in the sport for increased consolidation, and has inspired the new cultural approach to which Chester referred to.
NASA Inspiration
“It’s highly modelled on the Apollo project,” stated the team principal just before the British GP in July. “We are pragmatic, we know how difficult it is. The schedules, are incredibly tight. Well, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but it can seem that way.”
So they have implemented, as opposed to the usual hierarchical system, a flat management structure similar to that of Nasa’s, where there were a assortment of specialist groups all working on distinct elements of the project at a variety of locations.
“In a system where you follow a procedure where an issue arises and they raise it up to their supervisor, that leader communicates with a supervisor at a different location, it is relayed back, the process is very slow,” notes Chester. “We give authority to team members to handle things directly. Avoiding hierarchical consent for each action is much smoother and more rapid.”
What Lies Ahead
The success of this agile approach will be proven in the pressure of racing next season and there is a significant degree at stake for F1, too. Cadillac have recruited as their test driver the young Californian Colton Herta
