Approximately one year in the past at the Nevada Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately given the green light as F1's newest entrant for the 2026 season. Establishing the team from scratch has entailed a intense work rate that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the NASA lunar mission. As F1 arrives on Las Vegas this weekend, Cadillac know the clock is ticking.
The Race Against Time to Melbourne
At the season finale of the season to be staged in the America, with around 100 days to go before they make their debut 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 sisyphean challenge, they are conscious there will not be enough hours in the day.
The technical director, Nick Chester, came aboard the nascent operation in early 2023 shortly after it was formed, when the organization were without even an approved entry. He has been at its core since then and has a amused expression when reflecting on the journey.
“You can have five minutes thinking back at what you’ve done and go: ‘Amazing, how impressive what the team has created in under three years,’” he notes. “Then the very next instant you realize: ‘Yeah, there is still a great deal to do.’”
An Unprecedented Task
The CTO enjoyed success at the Renault team in Alonso's title-winning seasons of 2005/2006 and was in command of technical direction at the then-new Mercedes Formula E team, but nothing has quite compared with the task of bringing the iconic American Cadillac name, a works entry supported by the parent company, General Motors, into F1.
“Creating an Formula One team from scratch, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he observes. “There's nothing comparable. In an well-set team you won't have the chance to change organizational mindset.”
With every day that passes minds are more focused on the impending critical moment in the Australian GP and targets are being managed.
“You have to assume that any new team entering the sport is probably going to finish last but merely participating will be an feat in itself,” Graeme Lowdon stated recently and while the CTO echoed this he believed the team had a reputation to build as well.
“The first thing we aim to demonstrate is that we deserve to be there,” he says. “So that we show up and we function efficiently. We aim to demonstrate that we’re a proper team performing the proper actions on the circuit. Once we have demonstrated that our credentials are solid, then we aim to demonstrate improvement from there on.”
Pilot Selection and Recruitment Drive
In August they contracted Checo Pérez and Valtteri Bottas as their pilots for the 2026 season, a tandem notable for their vast knowledge in performing at the sharp end in two top-tier teams, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes-AMG, and Bottas expressed the sentiment of fighting spirit.
“Certainly, we are pragmatic,” Bottas stated. “We face a mountain of work to do, and we expect probably a tough opening, because it's the top level of motorsport. But our goal isn't to stay at the back. I am confident with this setup, with this group, these people, it's entirely possible we won't be able to progress rapidly to the front and taste victory.”
To achieve that goal recruitment has been in top gear, with employees now up to over 400 and planned to hit the objective of 600 members quickly. In addition to their existing facility at the Silverstone circuit, the organization are in the midst of building an HQ at Fishers, Indiana in Indianapolis and there is the GM works in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are constructing the plant to manufacture the new engine, scheduled for the 2029 season – for now they will use Ferrari power units – and the aerodynamic facility in Cologne, Germany. It is a complex structure, different from the movement in F1 for more centralization, and has prompted the new cultural approach to which Chester alluded.
Apollo Blueprint
“It’s highly modelled on the Apollo project,” stated Graeme Lowdon shortly before the British Grand Prix in mid-season. “We’re realistic, we understand how difficult it is. The schedules, they’re super, super, super short. Alright, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have embraced, instead of the usual hierarchical system, a non-hierarchical approach comparable to that of NASA's, where there were a range of project teams all focusing on various components of the program in a variety of locations.
“When you must follow a process where an issue arises and they report it to their supervisor, that manager communicates with a supervisor in another department, it travels back down, it becomes inefficient,” says the CTO. “So we empower people to handle things directly. Moving away from hierarchical consent for each action is much smoother and faster.”
Upcoming Challenges
The efficacy of this flexible methodology will be proven in the intensity of Grand Prix when the season begins and there is a significant degree on the line for the sport, too. Cadillac have recruited as their reserve driver the 25-year-old American Colton Herta
