Just over twelve months ago at the Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were finally awarded the green light as Formula One’s most recent entry for the 2026 season. Building the organization from scratch has entailed a hectic operating tempo that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo program. As Formula One arrives on Vegas this race weekend, the team know the clock is ticking.
The Race Against Time to Melbourne
At the last event of the season to be staged in the United States, with just over 100 days to go before they hit the circuit for the maiden outing in Australia at the first race of 2026, the Cadillac F1 project have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a monumental endeavor, they are aware there will not be sufficient time.
The CTO, Nick Chester, became part of the nascent team in the spring of 2023 shortly after it was created, when the team were without even an official entry. He has been at its center since then and gets a wry smile when reflecting on the ride.
“You might get five minutes reflecting at what you have accomplished and say: ‘Amazing, isn’t this fantastic what we have built in a short three-year period,’” he notes. “Then the next minute you realize: ‘Well, we’ve still got quite a lot to do.’”
A One-of-a-Kind Opportunity
Nick Chester achieved victories at Renault in the driver Fernando Alonso's victorious campaigns of 2005/2006 and was in charge of engineering strategy at the new Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but no previous experience has truly matched the challenge of introducing the all-American Cadillac brand, a works entry supported by the corporate entity, General Motors Corporation, into Formula One.
“Creating an Formula One team from the ground up, when will you ever have the possibility to do that?” he observes. “There's nothing comparable. In an established team you won't have the opportunity to change organizational mindset.”
With each passing day that goes by minds are sharper on the approaching moment of truth in Melbourne and goals are being managed.
“You have to assume that a brand-new squad coming in is going to be last but merely participating will be an feat in itself,” the team principal commented recently and while the CTO echoed this 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,” he emphasizes. “So that we arrive and we operate well. We aim to demonstrate that this is a professional operation doing the correct procedures on the race track. Once we’ve shown that we are a legitimate team, then we want to show progression subsequently.”
Driver Lineup and Recruitment Drive
In August they signed Sergio Perez and Valtteri as their drivers for 2026, a pair distinguished for their invaluable experience in operating at the leading positions in two of the sport’s biggest teams, Red Bull and Mercedes, and Bottas expressed the attitude of combative optimism.
“Of course, we have a realistic outlook,” he said. “We have a mountain of work to do, and we expect most likely a tough opening, because this is Formula One. But we’re not there to finish last. I believe with this setup, with these individuals, this staff, there is every reason that we can't manage to progress rapidly to a competitive level and enjoy some success.”
To that end staff acquisition has been in full swing, with employees now reaching over 400 and intended to attain the target of 600 members quickly. In addition to their current base at the Silverstone circuit, the squad are in the phase of completing an main base at Fishers, Indiana in the Indianapolis area and there is the GM works in Charlotte, where they are developing the center to produce the 2029 engine, set for 2029 – in the meantime they will use Ferrari engines – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany. It is a intricate organization, different from the trend in Formula One for more centralization, and has prompted the fresh organizational mindset to which the CTO referred to.
Space Mission Model
“It's closely based on the Apollo project,” stated Graeme Lowdon ahead of the British Grand Prix in mid-season. “We have a clear-eyed view, we understand how difficult it is. The timelines, they’re super, super, super short. Well, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have implemented, rather than the usual hierarchical system, a flat management structure similar to that of the space agency's, where there were a range of Apollo teams all working on various components of the mission across a multiple sites.
“When you must follow a process where an issue arises and they raise it up to their team leader, that manager consults a supervisor somewhere else, it travels back down, the process is very slow,” explains Chester. “So we empower staff to really get on with it. Moving away from hierarchical consent for all decisions is so much cleaner and more rapid.”
Upcoming Challenges
The success of this nimble strategy will be tested in the intensity of Grand Prix next season and there is a significant degree riding on this for Formula One, too. Cadillac have recruited as their development driver the young American Colton Herta
