Approximately twelve months ago at the Nevada Grand Prix, Cadillac were at last granted the go-ahead as F1's most recent participant for the 2026 season. Constructing the squad from scratch has required a frenetic pace of work that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo program. As the sport descends on the Vegas strip this race weekend, Cadillac understand time is getting tight.
The Race Against Time to Australia
At the season finale of the campaign to be hosted in the United States, with approximately 100 days to go before they hit the circuit for the first time in Melbourne at the 2026 season opener, Cadillac have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a never-ending challenge, they are cognizant there will not be sufficient time.
The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, came aboard the nascent project in the spring of 2023 shortly after it was created, when the organization were without even an official entry. He has been at its core from that point and enjoys a knowing grin when thinking about the ride.
“There might be a short period reflecting at what you’ve done and go: ‘Wow, what an achievement what we have built in less than three years,’” he says. “But then the very next instant you consider: ‘Yes, there is still a significant amount to do.’”
A Unique Challenge
The CTO had success at Renault in the driver Fernando Alonso's title-winning seasons of 2005/2006 and was in charge of engineering strategy at the new Mercedes electric racing team, but nothing has truly matched the task of bringing the quintessentially American Cadillac brand, a manufacturer-backed entry backed by the corporate entity, GM, into F1.
“Establishing an Formula One team from nothing, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he observes. “There's nothing comparable. In an well-set team you rarely get the chance to alter organizational mindset.”
With each passing day that goes by focus are sharper on the impending moment of truth in Australia and goals are being handled.
“You have to assume that any new team coming in is likely to start at the back but simply getting on to the grid will be an achievement in itself,” Graeme Lowdon commented recently and while the CTO echoed this he felt the organization had a point to prove as well.
“The initial objective we aim to demonstrate is that we should be there,” Chester explains. “In order that we turn up and we function efficiently. We seek to prove that we’re a proper team doing the correct procedures on the race track. When we’ve shown that we are a legitimate team, then we will focus on forward movement subsequently.”
Racing Talent and Team Building Drive
In the summer they signed Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas as their drivers for 2026, a pair remarkable for their vast knowledge in operating at the front in two top-tier teams, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes-AMG, and the Finnish driver reflected the attitude of determined optimism.
“Of course, we are pragmatic,” he said. “We have a mountain of work to do, and it will likely be most likely a difficult start, because it is F1. But we’re not there to stay at the back. In my view with this structure, with this group, this staff, it's entirely possible we shouldn’t be able to progress rapidly to the front and achieve good results.”
To achieve that goal recruitment has been in full swing, with staff now at in excess of 400 and intended to attain the target of 600 members quickly. Alongside their existing facility at Silverstone, the squad are in the phase of building an HQ at the Fishers location in Indy and there is the GM works in Charlotte, where they are developing the center to produce the 2029 engine, planned for 2029 – for now they will use Ferrari engines – and the aerodynamic facility in Cologne. It is a intricate organisation, different from the trend in F1 for more centralization, and has prompted the fresh organizational mindset to which Nick Chester referred.
Apollo Model
“It’s highly modelled on the Apollo project,” stated Lowdon just before the Silverstone race in mid-season. “We’re realistic, we understand how difficult it is. The timelines, they’re super, super, super short. Alright, it's not a space expedition, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have embraced, instead of the traditional management structure, a flat management structure comparable to that of Nasa’s, where there were a assortment of Apollo teams all focusing on various components of the program at a variety of locations.
“In a system where you follow a process where someone has a problem and they raise it up to their supervisor, that leader consults a manager in another department, it is relayed back, it’s super slow,” says the CTO. “So we empower team members to really get on with it. Moving away from managerial sign-off for all decisions is far more efficient and faster.”
Upcoming Challenges
The efficacy of this flexible approach will be proven in the heat of competition when the season begins and there is no little amount at stake for Formula One, too. Cadillac have signed as their development driver the 25-year-old American Colton Herta
