Just over a full year ago at the Nevada Grand Prix, Cadillac were at last given the green light as the world of Formula One's newest entrant for 2026. Establishing the squad from scratch has entailed a frenetic operating tempo that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo moon landing. As Formula One converges on Vegas this race weekend, the team understand the clock is ticking.
The Race Against Time to Australia
At the final race of the season to be staged in the US, with around three months to go before they make their debut for the inaugural time in Australia at the 2026 opener, Cadillac have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a never-ending endeavor, they are conscious there will not be adequate time.
The technical director, Nick Chester, became part of the newly formed operation in March 2023 shortly after it was formed, when the squad were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its heart from that point and has a knowing grin when considering the journey.
“There might be five minutes looking back at what you’ve done and think: ‘Incredible, how impressive what the team has created in under three years,’” he says. “And then the following moment you think: ‘Yes, we’ve still got quite a lot to do.’”
A Unique Challenge
Nick Chester achieved victories at Renault in Alonso's championship-winning campaigns of 2005/2006 and was in command of technical direction at the then-new Mercedes electric racing team, but no previous experience has truly matched the mission of introducing the quintessentially American Cadillac brand, a manufacturer-backed entry backed by the parent company, General Motors Corporation, into F1.
“Creating an grand prix team from scratch, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he says. “It's unparalleled. In an well-set team you don’t get the possibility to alter team culture.”
With each passing day that passes focus are increasingly concentrated on the impending moment of truth in Melbourne and expectations are being handled.
“You have to assume that a brand-new squad joining the grid is going to be last but just making it to the starting line will be an accomplishment in itself,” the team principal stated this year and while Nick Chester shared this view he believed the squad had a point to prove as well.
“The initial objective we intend to prove is that we should be there,” he emphasizes. “So we show up and we perform competently. We aim to demonstrate that we are a serious contender executing the correct procedures on the track. After we’ve shown that we are a legitimate team, then we will focus on improvement subsequently.”
Pilot Selection and Hiring Push
In the summer they contracted Sergio Pérez and Bottas as their pilots for 2026, a pair remarkable for their vast knowledge in operating at the front in two championship-winning squads, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes, and Valtteri Bottas reflected the attitude of determined optimism.
“Naturally, we have a realistic outlook,” Bottas stated. “We have a massive task to do, and it’s going to be probably a tough opening, because this is Formula One. But we’re not there to finish last. In my view with this setup, with these individuals, these personnel, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to advance swiftly to a competitive level and achieve good results.”
To achieve that goal hiring has been in full swing, with personnel now up to over 400 and planned to reach the target of 600 members swiftly. Complementing their current base at the Silverstone circuit, the team are in the process of finishing an HQ at the Fishers location in Indy and there is the GM works in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are building the facility to build the 2029 engine, planned for 2029 – in the meantime they will operate with Ferrari engines – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne. It is a intricate organisation, contrary to the direction in Formula One for increased consolidation, and has led to the innovative team culture to which Chester referred to.
Space Mission Blueprint
“We've drawn heavily from the Apollo project,” said the team principal ahead of the Silverstone race in July. “We have a clear-eyed view, we recognize how challenging it is. The deadlines, are incredibly tight. Well, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but it feels like it sometimes.”
So they have adopted, rather than the conventional chain of command, a flat management structure similar to that of Nasa’s, where there were a assortment of specialist groups all working on various components of the program at a multiple sites.
“When you must follow a procedure where a challenge emerges and they raise it up to their team leader, that supervisor communicates with a supervisor somewhere else, it travels back down, the process is very slow,” explains Chester. “Therefore we enable team members to take charge. Avoiding managerial sign-off for everything is so much cleaner and more rapid.”
The Future
The efficacy of this nimble methodology will be proven in the heat of competition when the season begins and there is a significant degree on the line for Formula One, too. Cadillac have recruited as their reserve driver the 25-year-old Californian Colton Herta
