A little more than a full year previously at the Vegas Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were finally given the green light as the world of Formula One's newest entrant for 2026. Building the team from nothing has required a frenetic operating tempo that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo moon landing. As F1 descends on Vegas this weekend, the team know the deadline is approaching.
The Race Against Time to Australia
At the season finale of the championship to be hosted in the United States, with around three months to go before they hit the circuit for the inaugural time in Australia at the first race of 2026, Cadillac have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a monumental endeavor, they are cognizant there will not be adequate time.
The CTO, Nick Chester, joined the newly formed team in the spring of 2023 not long after it was formed, when the organization were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its heart since then and gets a knowing grin when thinking about the ride.
“There might be a short period looking back at what you have accomplished and say: ‘Incredible, how impressive what we’ve done in a short three-year period,’” he says. “But then the very next instant you consider: ‘Well, there is still a great deal to do.’”
An Unprecedented Challenge
The CTO had success at Renault in Alonso's title-winning campaigns of the mid-2000s and was in command of technical development at the recently formed Mercedes electric racing team, but no other project has been quite like the mission of introducing the all-American Cadillac marque, a manufacturer-backed entry backed by the owner, General Motors, into Formula One.
“Creating an Formula One team from scratch, when will you ever have the possibility to do that?” he says. “There's nothing comparable. In an established team you don’t get the chance to alter team culture.”
With each day that elapses minds are sharper on the approaching decisive point in the Australian GP and goals are being handled.
“You have to assume that any incoming team coming in is likely to start at the back but merely participating will be an achievement in itself,” the team principal noted this year and while the CTO agreed with this sentiment he believed the organization had a statement to make as well.
“Our primary goal we want to show is that we deserve to be there,” Chester explains. “In order that we show up and we perform competently. We want to show that we are a serious contender doing the proper actions on the circuit. Once we’ve shown that we are a legitimate team, then we want to show forward movement subsequently.”
Driver Lineup and Hiring Effort
In late summer they signed Checo Pérez and Valtteri Bottas as their racers for the 2026 season, a duo distinguished for their vast knowledge in competing at the sharp end in two top-tier teams, the Red Bull team and Mercedes-AMG, and Valtteri Bottas expressed the attitude of combative optimism.
“Of course, we have a realistic outlook,” Bottas stated. “There’s going to be a mountain of work to do, and it’s going to be most likely a difficult start, because it's the top level of motorsport. But we’re not there to remain at the rear. I am confident given this organization, with this team, these people, there is every reason that we can't manage to progress rapidly to the front and enjoy some success.”
To achieve that goal staff acquisition has been in full swing, with personnel now up to over 400 and scheduled to hit the goal of 600 rapidly. In addition to their current base at the UK base, the squad are in the phase of finishing an headquarters at the Fishers location in Indianapolis and there is the General Motors facility in North Carolina, where they are constructing the facility to manufacture the power unit, planned for the 2029 season – until then they will operate with power from Ferrari – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Germany. It is a complex organisation, contrary to the trend in Formula One for more centralization, and has inspired the innovative team culture to which the CTO alluded.
Space Mission Blueprint
“It’s highly modelled on the Apollo project,” said the team principal shortly before the Silverstone race in the summer. “We are pragmatic, we know how challenging it is. The schedules, are incredibly tight. Well, it's not a space expedition, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have embraced, instead of the usual hierarchical system, a flat management structure akin to that of the space agency's, where there were a range of specialist groups all working on distinct elements of the program across a multiple sites.
“In a system where you follow a protocol where someone has a problem and they escalate it to their team leader, that supervisor consults a supervisor at a different location, it goes back down the chain, it becomes inefficient,” notes Nick Chester. “So we empower staff to take charge. Avoiding managerial sign-off for all decisions is far more efficient and more rapid.”
What Lies Ahead
The success of this agile approach will be evaluated in the pressure of racing next season and there is a considerable amount riding on this for the sport, too. Cadillac have signed as their development driver the young American Colton Herta
