A little more than a full year in the past at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately awarded the official approval as the world of Formula One's newest entrant for the 2026 season. Building the organization from scratch has involved a intense operating tempo that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo program. As Formula One arrives on the Vegas strip this race weekend, Cadillac know the deadline is approaching.
The Tight Timeline to Melbourne
At the last event of the campaign to be staged in the America, with approximately 100 days to go before they hit the circuit for the inaugural time in Melbourne at the 2026 opener, the Cadillac F1 project have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a never-ending endeavor, they are aware there will not be adequate time.
The technical director, Nick Chester, became part of the nascent team in the spring of 2023 not long after it was created, when the organization were without even an official entry. He has been at its heart ever since and enjoys a knowing grin when considering the experience.
“You can have a short period thinking back at what the team has achieved and go: ‘Amazing, what an achievement what the team has created in a short three-year period,’” he notes. “But then the very next instant you think: ‘Yes, we’ve still got a great deal to do.’”
A One-of-a-Kind Challenge
Chester had success at the Renault team in Alonso's title-winning campaigns of 2005 and 2006 and was in control of technical development at the then-new Mercedes Formula E team, but nothing has truly matched the challenge of launching the quintessentially American Cadillac brand, a factory team sponsored by the corporate entity, General Motors Corporation, into F1.
“Building 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 won't have the chance to change organizational mindset.”
With each day that elapses focus are sharper on the approaching critical moment in the Australian GP and expectations are being set realistically.
“One must presume that a brand-new squad coming in is likely to start at the back but just making it to the starting line will be an feat in itself,” Graeme Lowdon stated this year and while the CTO echoed this he believed the squad had a statement to make as well.
“Our primary goal we intend to prove is that we belong on the grid,” he emphasizes. “In order that we turn up and we perform competently. We want to show that we are a serious contender executing the proper actions on the track. When we prove that we are a legitimate team, then we aim to demonstrate progression subsequently.”
Racing Talent and Hiring Push
In late summer they contracted Sergio Pérez and Bottas as their racers for the 2026 season, a pair remarkable for their invaluable experience in competing at the leading positions in two top-tier teams, Red Bull and Mercedes, and Bottas echoed the sentiment of fighting spirit.
“Certainly, we have a realistic outlook,” Bottas stated. “There’s going to be a huge amount of work to do, and it’s going to be probably a difficult start, because this is Formula One. But we’re not there to finish last. I am confident with this setup, with these individuals, these people, it's entirely possible we can't manage to advance swiftly up to the pace and enjoy some success.”
To that end recruitment has been in full swing, with personnel now at over 400 and planned to attain the target of 600 members swiftly. Complementing their existing facility at the Silverstone circuit, the squad are in the process of finishing an HQ at Fishers, Indiana in Indy and there is the GM plant in Charlotte, where they are building the facility to build the power unit, scheduled for 2029 – until then they will operate with power from Ferrari – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne. It is a intricate organisation, different from the movement in F1 for greater centralisation, and has prompted the fresh organizational mindset to which the CTO referred to.
Apollo Inspiration
“It's closely based on the NASA moon mission,” said Graeme Lowdon ahead of the Silverstone race in July. “We are pragmatic, we recognize how challenging it is. The timelines, they’re super, super, super short. Alright, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but it can seem that way.”
So they have adopted, rather than the usual hierarchical system, a flat management structure similar to that of Nasa’s, where there were a range of specialist groups all working on different aspects of the project across a multiple sites.
“If you have to go through a process where someone has a problem and they raise it up to their manager, that manager talks to a leader somewhere else, it goes back down the chain, it becomes inefficient,” notes Chester. “Therefore we enable staff to really get on with it. Eliminating managerial sign-off for all decisions is much smoother and quicker.”
What Lies Ahead
The effectiveness of this agile approach will be tested in the heat of competition in 2026 and there is a significant degree on the line for the sport, too. The Cadillac team have taken on as their development driver the 25-year-old American Colton Herta
