🔗 Share this article

Approximately one year ago at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately awarded the official approval as F1's latest participant for the 2026 season. Establishing the organization from the ground up has required a intense pace of work that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo program. As the sport converges on the Vegas strip this race weekend, Cadillac know the deadline is approaching.

The Countdown to Australia

At the season finale of the campaign to be staged in the US, with approximately a hundred days to go before they take to the track for the maiden outing in Australia at the 2026 season opener, the Cadillac F1 project have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a never-ending endeavor, they are aware there will not be adequate time.

The technical director, Nick Chester, joined the embryonic operation in early 2023 soon after it was created, when the squad were without even an approved entry. He has been at its heart from that point and enjoys a knowing grin when considering the journey.

“There might be a brief moment looking back at what you’ve done and think: ‘Wow, isn’t this fantastic what the team has created in a short three-year period,’” he notes. “But then the very next instant you think: ‘Yes, we’ve still got quite a lot to do.’”

An Unprecedented Challenge

Nick Chester achieved victories at the Renault team in Alonso's victorious years of 2005 and 2006 and was in control of engineering strategy at the new Mercedes Formula E team, but nothing has truly matched the task of launching the iconic American Cadillac marque, a works entry sponsored by the parent company, GM, into Formula One.

“Creating an Formula One team from nothing, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” Chester remarks. “It is like nothing else. In an well-set team you don’t get the chance to change cultural approach.”

With each day that elapses minds are more focused on the looming critical moment in Australia and goals are being set realistically.

“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 stated recently and while Nick Chester agreed with this sentiment he believed the squad had a reputation to build as well.

“The first thing we want to show is that we deserve to be there,” Chester explains. “So that we show up and we operate well. We aim to demonstrate that this is a professional operation executing the right things on the circuit. Once we have demonstrated that our credentials are solid, then we aim to demonstrate improvement from there on.”

Pilot Selection and Hiring Drive

In the summer they recruited Sergio Perez and Bottas as their drivers for 2026, a pair remarkable for their invaluable experience in operating at the sharp end in two top-tier teams, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes, and Valtteri Bottas reflected the attitude of fighting spirit.

“Of course, we are pragmatic,” he commented. “There’s going to be a huge amount of work to do, and it’s going to be most likely a difficult start, because this is Formula One. But our goal isn't to remain at the rear. In my view given this organization, with these individuals, these people, it's entirely possible we shouldn’t be able to progress rapidly up to the pace and achieve good results.”

To achieve that goal recruitment has been in overdrive, with employees now up to more than 400 and intended to reach the goal of 600 members swiftly. In addition to their existing facility at the Silverstone circuit, the organization are in the phase of finishing an main base at Fishers, Indiana in Indy and there is the General Motors facility in Charlotte, where they are developing the center to produce the new engine, set for 2029 – until then they will run Ferrari engines – and the aerodynamic facility in Cologne. It is a complex organization, contrary to the direction in Formula One for increased consolidation, and has inspired the new cultural approach to which Nick Chester referred.

Space Mission Inspiration

“We've drawn heavily from the Apollo project,” said the team principal ahead of the British GP in July. “We have a clear-eyed view, we know how tough it is. The schedules, are incredibly tight. OK, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but the pressure is comparable.”

So they have adopted, as opposed to the usual hierarchical system, a flat management structure similar to that of the space agency's, where there were a variety of Apollo teams all focusing on different aspects of the mission in a variety of locations.

“In a system where you follow a process where someone has a problem and they report it to their team leader, that leader consults a supervisor in another department, it goes back down the chain, the process is very slow,” notes Nick Chester. “So we empower team members to handle things directly. Moving away from hierarchical consent for each action is much smoother and faster.”

Upcoming Challenges

The success of this agile methodology will be proven in the heat of competition next season and there is no little amount riding on this for Formula One, too. Cadillac have recruited as their development driver the young Californian Colton Herta