Approximately twelve months previously at the Nevada Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were ultimately given the green light as Formula One’s newest entrant for 2026. Constructing the organization from scratch has entailed a hectic pace of work that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the NASA lunar mission. As Formula One arrives on Las Vegas this race weekend, Cadillac know the clock is ticking.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the final race of the campaign to be held in the US, with around a hundred days to go before they hit the circuit for the maiden outing in Australia at the first race of 2026, Cadillac have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a monumental task, they are cognizant there will not be adequate time.
The CTO, Nick Chester, came aboard the nascent project in March 2023 not long after it was formed, when the team were without even an approved entry. He has been at its core since then and gets a knowing grin when thinking about the experience.
“You can have a short period looking back at what you’ve done and say: ‘Wow, how impressive what we’ve done in a short three-year period,’” Chester states. “And then the following moment you consider: ‘Well, we still have a significant amount to do.’”
A One-of-a-Kind Opportunity
The CTO had success at Renault in the driver Fernando Alonso's championship-winning campaigns of 2005/2006 and was in command of technical development at the new Mercedes electric racing team, but nothing has truly matched the mission of introducing the all-American Cadillac name, a manufacturer-backed entry supported by the corporate entity, GM, into Formula One.
“Building an Formula One team from the ground up, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” he observes. “There's nothing comparable. In an established team you rarely get the opportunity to alter organizational mindset.”
With each passing day that goes by thoughts are sharper on the approaching decisive point in Australia and expectations are being handled.
“One must presume that any incoming team coming in is going to be last but just making it to the starting line will be an feat in itself,” the team principal commented recently and while Nick Chester echoed this he thought the organization had a reputation to build as well.
“The first thing we want to show is that we belong on the grid,” Chester explains. “So we show up and we function efficiently. We want to show that this is a professional operation performing the correct procedures on the track. Once we have demonstrated that we’re really credible, then we aim to demonstrate progression after that.”
Driver Lineup and Team Building Push
In the summer they contracted Checo Pérez and Valtteri Bottas as their racers for 2026, a pair distinguished for their vast knowledge in operating at the sharp end in two championship-winning squads, the Red Bull team and Mercedes-AMG, and Bottas reflected the sentiment of determined optimism.
“Certainly, we’re realistic,” Bottas stated. “We have a massive task to do, and we expect probably a challenging beginning, because it is F1. But our goal isn't to stay at the back. I am confident given this organization, with these individuals, these people, there’s no reason why we won't be able to progress rapidly up to the pace and taste victory.”
To achieve that goal staff acquisition has been in top gear, with staff now up to over 400 and scheduled to reach the target of 600 members quickly. In addition to their existing facility at the Silverstone circuit, the squad are in the phase of building an HQ at Fishers, Indiana in Indianapolis and there is the GM plant in Charlotte, where they are building the plant to manufacture the 2029 engine, planned for the 2029 season – until then they will use power from Ferrari – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Germany. It is a intricate organization, different from the direction in the sport for increased consolidation, and has prompted the innovative team culture to which the CTO alluded.
NASA Model
“It's closely based on the Apollo program,” remarked Lowdon shortly before the British Grand Prix in the summer. “We are pragmatic, we understand how tough it is. The schedules, are extremely compressed. Alright, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have adopted, instead of the conventional chain of command, a flat management structure similar to that of the space agency's, where there were a variety of project teams all focusing on various components of the project in a different facilities.
“In a system where you follow a process where a challenge emerges and they raise it up to their manager, that leader consults a supervisor at a different location, it goes back down the chain, it’s super slow,” notes the CTO. “So we empower team members to really get on with it. Eliminating management approval for each action is so much cleaner and faster.”
What Lies Ahead
The effectiveness of this agile approach will be tested in the heat of competition in 2026 and there is no little amount on the line for F1, too. The Cadillac team have signed as their reserve driver the young Californian Colton Herta
