Approximately a full year previously at the Nevada Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were at last given the go-ahead as F1's most recent participant for 2026. Building the squad from scratch has entailed a hectic pace of work that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo program. As the sport converges on Las Vegas this weekend, the team understand the clock is ticking.
The Tight Timeline to Australia
At the season finale of the championship to be hosted in the United States, with just over 100 days to go before they take to the track for the maiden outing in Melbourne at the first race of 2026, the Cadillac F1 project have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a never-ending endeavor, they are aware there will not be sufficient time.
The technical director, Nick Chester, became part of the embryonic operation in early 2023 soon after it was established, when the team were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its heart since then and enjoys a knowing grin when thinking about the experience.
“There might be five minutes reflecting at what you’ve done and go: ‘Incredible, how impressive what we’ve done in under three years,’” he notes. “And then the very next instant you think: ‘Yeah, we still have a significant amount to do.’”
A Unique Challenge
Nick Chester enjoyed success at Renault in Fernando Alonso’s championship-winning seasons of 2005/2006 and was in control of technical development at the recently formed Mercedes electric racing team, but no previous experience has been quite like the mission of launching the iconic American Cadillac brand, a factory team backed by the owner, GM, into F1.
“Creating an Formula One team from scratch, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” Chester remarks. “It's unparalleled. In an established team you don’t get the chance to alter organizational mindset.”
With every day that elapses thoughts are sharper on the approaching decisive point in Melbourne and goals are being managed.
“One must presume that any incoming team joining the grid is likely to start at the back but just making it to the starting line will be an feat in itself,” the team principal stated earlier this year and while Chester agreed with this sentiment he felt the organization had a reputation to build as well.
“Our primary goal we want to show is that we belong on the grid,” he says. “So we arrive and we operate well. We want to show that we are a serious contender doing the proper actions on the track. Once we’ve shown that our credentials are solid, then we will focus on forward movement subsequently.”
Pilot Selection and Recruitment Push
In August they contracted Checo Pérez and Valtteri Bottas as their pilots for the 2026 season, a duo remarkable for their vast knowledge in competing at the leading positions in two top-tier teams, the Red Bull team and Mercedes-AMG, and Valtteri Bottas reflected the attitude of combative optimism.
“Certainly, we are pragmatic,” Bottas stated. “We face a mountain of work to do, and it’s going to be probably a difficult start, because it's the top level of motorsport. But our goal isn't to stay at the back. I believe with this setup, with these individuals, this staff, it's entirely possible we shouldn’t be able to get relatively quickly up to the pace and enjoy some success.”
To that end recruitment has been in full swing, with personnel now reaching in excess of 400 and intended to hit the objective of six hundred rapidly. Complementing their existing facility at the Silverstone circuit, the team are in the process of completing an HQ at the Fishers location in Indianapolis and there is the GM works in North Carolina, where they are developing the plant to build the 2029 engine, set for 2029 – until then they will operate with power from Ferrari – and the aerodynamic facility in Cologne. It is a intricate structure, at odds with the movement in F1 for greater centralisation, and has inspired the innovative team culture to which Nick Chester referred.
Apollo Model
“It’s highly modelled on the Apollo project,” remarked the team principal shortly before the Silverstone race in the summer. “We are pragmatic, we understand how difficult it is. The deadlines, are extremely compressed. Alright, it's not a space expedition, but it can seem that way.”
So they have implemented, rather than the conventional chain of command, a decentralized management akin to that of NASA's, where there were a assortment of Apollo teams all focusing on different aspects of the program in a different facilities.
“If you have to go through a process where someone has a problem and they escalate it to their supervisor, that supervisor communicates with a leader in another department, it travels back down, it’s super slow,” says the CTO. “So we empower people to take charge. Moving away from managerial sign-off for each action is much smoother and faster.”
Upcoming Challenges
The effectiveness of this nimble approach will be proven in the pressure of racing when the season begins and there is a considerable amount riding on this for the sport, too. Cadillac have recruited as their reserve driver the emerging American Colton Herta
