Just over twelve months previously at the Nevada Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were ultimately given the official approval as the world of Formula One's newest entry for the 2026 season. Building the squad from scratch has involved a hectic pace of work that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo program. As F1 converges on Vegas this weekend, the team are aware time is getting tight.
The Race Against Time to Melbourne
At the final race of the campaign to be held in the United States, with approximately three months to go before they take to the track for the inaugural time in Melbourne at the first race of 2026, the Cadillac F1 project have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a monumental challenge, they are aware there will never be adequate time.
The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, came aboard the embryonic project in early 2023 not long after it was created, when the team were without even an official entry. He has been at its core from that point and enjoys a wry smile when reflecting on the ride.
“You might get a brief moment thinking back at what you have accomplished and say: ‘Wow, isn’t this fantastic what we’ve done in under three years,’” he says. “And then the very next instant you realize: ‘Yeah, we still have a significant amount to do.’”
A Unique Opportunity
Chester achieved victories at the Renault team in Alonso's title-winning seasons of 2005/2006 and was in charge of engineering strategy at the recently formed Mercedes Formula E team, but no previous experience has truly matched the challenge of introducing the quintessentially American Cadillac marque, a factory team supported by the owner, General Motors Corporation, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Creating an F1 team from the ground up, when will you ever have the possibility to do that?” Chester remarks. “There's nothing comparable. In an established team you won't have the chance to alter cultural approach.”
With each day that goes by minds are increasingly concentrated on the impending critical moment in Melbourne and expectations are being managed.
“One must presume that any new team entering the sport is probably going to finish last but merely participating will be an accomplishment in itself,” the team principal commented recently and while Chester shared this view he thought the squad had a statement to make as well.
“Our primary goal we intend to prove is that we deserve to be there,” Chester explains. “In order that we show up and we operate well. We seek to prove that we’re a proper team doing the right things on the track. After we’ve shown that we’re really credible, then we will focus on forward movement after that.”
Pilot Selection and Recruitment Drive
In late summer they recruited Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas as their pilots for the 2026 season, a pair notable for their priceless expertise in performing at the front in two championship-winning squads, the Red Bull team and Mercedes, and Valtteri Bottas expressed the sentiment of determined optimism.
“Naturally, we’re realistic,” he commented. “There’s going to be a massive task to do, and we expect almost certainly a challenging beginning, because it's the top level of motorsport. But our goal isn't to remain at the rear. I am confident with this setup, with these individuals, this staff, there is every reason that we won't be able to progress rapidly to the front and achieve good results.”
To that end staff acquisition has been in top gear, with employees now at more than 400 and scheduled to attain the objective of six hundred rapidly. In addition to their existing facility at the UK base, the team are in the midst of finishing an HQ at Fishers in the Indianapolis area and there is the GM plant in Charlotte, where they are developing the plant to manufacture the new engine, scheduled for the 2029 season – in the meantime they will use Ferrari engines – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Germany. It is a sophisticated organisation, at odds with the trend in Formula One for more centralization, and has led to the innovative team culture to which the CTO referred.
Apollo Model
“It’s highly modelled on the Apollo project,” remarked the team principal just before the Silverstone race in July. “We have a clear-eyed view, we recognize how difficult it is. The timelines, are incredibly tight. OK, it's not a space expedition, but it feels like it sometimes.”
So they have embraced, instead of the traditional management structure, a non-hierarchical approach comparable to that of NASA's, where there were a assortment of Apollo teams all tackling various components of the program in a different facilities.
“When you must follow a procedure where an issue arises and they raise it up to their team leader, that manager communicates with a manager at a different location, it travels back down, it’s super slow,” explains Nick Chester. “So we empower team members to handle things directly. Eliminating managerial sign-off for each action is much smoother and faster.”
What Lies Ahead
The success of this nimble strategy will be evaluated in the pressure of racing next season and there is a considerable amount on the line for F1, too. The Cadillac team have taken on as their test driver the emerging American Colton Herta
