Approximately twelve months in the past at the Nevada Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately awarded the go-ahead as Formula One’s latest entrant for the 2026 season. Constructing the squad from nothing has entailed a intense pace of work that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo program. As Formula One arrives on the Vegas strip this weekend, the team know time is getting tight.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the last event of the campaign to be held in the United States, with around 100 days to go before they make their debut for the first time in Australia at the 2026 opener, Cadillac have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a sisyphean task, they are cognizant there will never be adequate time.
The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, came aboard the embryonic project in early 2023 shortly after it was established, when the team were without even an official entry. He has been at its center from that point and has a wry smile when thinking about the ride.
“There might be five minutes thinking back at what you have accomplished and go: ‘Incredible, what an achievement what the team has created in a short three-year period,’” Chester states. “And then the following moment you consider: ‘Well, there is still a great deal to do.’”
A Unique Challenge
Chester achieved victories at Renault in Alonso's title-winning years of 2005 and 2006 and was in control of technical development at the then-new Mercedes Formula E team, but no previous experience has been quite like the mission of bringing the iconic American Cadillac marque, a factory team supported by the corporate entity, GM, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Building an Formula One team from nothing, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he says. “It's unparalleled. In an existing team you don’t get the opportunity to alter team culture.”
With every day that elapses focus are more focused on the approaching moment of truth in the Australian GP and goals are being handled.
“It's reasonable to expect that a brand-new squad entering the sport is likely to start at the back but simply getting on to the grid will be an feat in itself,” the team principal noted recently and while Nick Chester echoed this he felt the team had a point to prove as well.
“The first thing we intend to prove is that we deserve to be there,” Chester explains. “So we show up and we perform competently. We aim to demonstrate that we are a serious contender performing the correct procedures on the track. Once we’ve shown that we are a legitimate team, then we want to show improvement subsequently.”
Racing Talent and Recruitment Effort
In late summer they signed Checo Pérez and Valtteri as their drivers for 2026, a duo distinguished for their invaluable experience in operating at the sharp end in two of the sport’s biggest teams, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes-AMG, and Valtteri Bottas reflected the sentiment of fighting spirit.
“Certainly, we have a realistic outlook,” he said. “We face a massive task to do, and we expect probably a challenging beginning, because it's the top level of motorsport. But we’re not there to remain at the rear. I believe given this organization, with this team, this staff, it's entirely possible we won't be able to get relatively quickly up to the pace and enjoy some success.”
To realize that ambition recruitment has been in top gear, with personnel now at more than 400 and intended to reach the target of 600 rapidly. Complementing their existing facility at the Silverstone circuit, the team are in the midst of finishing an headquarters at the Fishers location in Indy and there is the GM plant in North Carolina, where they are constructing the plant to produce the new engine, planned for 2029 – until then they will operate with Ferrari engines – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne. It is a sophisticated structure, contrary to the direction in F1 for increased consolidation, and has led to the fresh organizational mindset to which Chester alluded.
Apollo Inspiration
“It’s highly modelled on the Apollo project,” stated Lowdon ahead of the British GP in July. “We are pragmatic, we understand how difficult it is. The schedules, are incredibly tight. Alright, it's not a space expedition, but it feels like it sometimes.”
So they have embraced, rather than the traditional management structure, a non-hierarchical approach akin to that of Nasa’s, where there were a range of Apollo teams all working on various components of the project across a multiple sites.
“If you have to go through a process where a challenge emerges and they raise it up to their supervisor, that leader communicates with a leader somewhere else, it is relayed back, it becomes inefficient,” notes Chester. “Therefore we enable people to really get on with it. Eliminating management approval for all decisions is so much cleaner and quicker.”
The Future
The success of this agile approach will be proven in the intensity of Grand Prix next season and there is a considerable amount at stake for the sport, too. The Cadillac team have signed as their test driver the young Californian Colton Herta
