A little more than twelve months in the past at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were ultimately awarded the green light as the world of Formula One's latest entrant for the 2026 season. Building the squad from nothing has required a frenetic work rate that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the Apollo moon landing. As the sport arrives on the Vegas strip this weekend, Cadillac know the clock is ticking.
The Countdown to Australia
At the final race of the season to be held in the US, with approximately 100 days to go before they take to the track for the first time in Australia at the 2026 season opener, Cadillac have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a sisyphean challenge, they are aware there will not be adequate time.
The technical director, Nick Chester, came aboard the embryonic project in March 2023 soon after it was established, when the organization were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its heart ever since and has a wry smile when reflecting on the journey.
“You might get a short period thinking back at what the team has achieved and go: ‘Wow, isn’t this fantastic what we’ve done in under three years,’” Chester states. “And then the next minute you realize: ‘Yes, we’ve still got quite a lot to do.’”
A Unique Challenge
Chester achieved victories at Renault in Fernando Alonso’s victorious years of the mid-2000s and was in command of engineering strategy at the then-new Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but no previous experience has quite compared with the challenge of launching the all-American Cadillac name, a manufacturer-backed entry sponsored by the corporate entity, GM, into Formula One.
“Building an Formula One team from the ground up, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he says. “There's nothing comparable. In an existing team you rarely get the chance to change cultural approach.”
With every day that elapses minds are sharper on the impending moment of truth in the Australian GP and expectations are being managed.
“You have to assume that any new team joining the grid is likely to start at the back but simply getting on to the grid will be an accomplishment in itself,” the team principal commented this year and while Chester shared this view he felt the squad had a point to prove as well.
“The first thing we aim to demonstrate is that we deserve to be there,” he says. “So we arrive and we function efficiently. We seek to prove that we are a serious contender doing the proper actions on the race track. Once we’ve shown that we are a legitimate team, then we will focus on forward movement subsequently.”
Racing Talent and Team Building Push
In August they contracted Checo Pérez and Valtteri Bottas as their racers for 2026, a pair distinguished for their invaluable experience in operating at the leading positions in two of the sport’s biggest teams, Red Bull Racing and the Mercedes team, and Valtteri Bottas echoed the mood of determined optimism.
“Naturally, we’re realistic,” Bottas stated. “We have a huge amount of work to do, and we expect almost certainly a challenging beginning, because this is Formula One. But our goal isn't to finish last. In my view with this structure, with this team, this staff, there’s no reason why we won't be able to advance swiftly to a competitive level and enjoy some success.”
To that end hiring has been in top gear, with personnel now reaching more than 400 and intended to hit the target of 600 quickly. Alongside their existing facility at Silverstone, the team are in the phase of building an headquarters at Fishers, Indiana in Indianapolis and there is the General Motors facility in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are developing the center to manufacture the new engine, scheduled for 2029 – in the meantime they will use Ferrari power units – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany. It is a sophisticated organisation, different from the movement in Formula One for increased consolidation, and has led to the innovative team culture to which Nick Chester referred.
NASA Blueprint
“It’s highly modelled on the NASA moon mission,” remarked the team principal ahead of the British GP in mid-season. “We have a clear-eyed view, we recognize how challenging it is. The timelines, are extremely compressed. Well, it's not a space expedition, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have embraced, rather than the conventional chain of command, a decentralized management comparable to that of NASA's, where there were a range of Apollo teams all focusing on various components of the project at a variety of locations.
“In a system where you follow a protocol where a challenge emerges and they escalate it to their supervisor, that leader consults a leader at a different location, it is relayed back, it’s super slow,” says the CTO. “We give authority to staff to take charge. Moving away from managerial sign-off for all decisions is far more efficient and more rapid.”
What Lies Ahead
The effectiveness of this nimble strategy will be evaluated in the heat of competition next season and there is a significant degree at stake for the sport, too. The Cadillac team have recruited as their reserve driver the young American Colton Herta
