🔗 Share this article

A little more than twelve months previously at the Nevada Grand Prix, Cadillac were at last awarded the go-ahead as Formula One’s most recent participant for 2026. Establishing the team from scratch has required a hectic pace of work that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo program. As F1 arrives on Vegas this weekend, the team understand time is getting tight.

The Tight Timeline to Melbourne

At the season finale of the championship to be staged in the US, with approximately 100 days to go before they make their debut for the inaugural time in Australia at the 2026 season opener, the Cadillac F1 project have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a monumental challenge, they are conscious there will not be enough hours in the day.

The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, became part of the embryonic project in the spring of 2023 soon after it was created, when the organization were without even an approved entry. He has been at its heart ever since and enjoys a wry smile when considering the journey.

“There might be a short period thinking back at what you’ve done and go: ‘Wow, isn’t this fantastic what we’ve done in less than three years,’” he says. “But then the very next instant you consider: ‘Yes, there is still quite a lot to do.’”

A Unique Challenge

Nick Chester achieved victories at Renault in Fernando Alonso’s victorious seasons of the mid-2000s and was in command of technical development at the recently formed Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but no previous experience has been quite like the mission of introducing the iconic American Cadillac name, a works entry supported by the parent company, GM, into F1.

“Building an Formula One team from nothing, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” he says. “It's unparalleled. In an established team you won't have the possibility to alter team culture.”

With each day that elapses minds are more focused on the approaching moment of truth in the Australian GP and goals are being managed.

“It's reasonable to expect that any incoming team coming in is probably going to finish last but just making it to the starting line will be an accomplishment in itself,” the team principal commented earlier this year and while the CTO echoed this he thought the organization had a reputation to build as well.

“Our primary goal we want to show is that we belong on the grid,” he emphasizes. “In order that we show up and we perform competently. We aim to demonstrate that we are a serious contender performing the correct procedures on the circuit. When we’ve shown that we are a legitimate team, then we want to show forward movement subsequently.”

Driver Lineup and Hiring Effort

In the summer they recruited Sergio Pérez and Bottas as their drivers for 2026, a duo remarkable for their invaluable experience in operating at the leading positions in two championship-winning squads, Red Bull Racing and the Mercedes team, and Bottas echoed the mood of determined optimism.

“Naturally, we’re realistic,” Bottas stated. “We have a mountain of work to do, and we expect most likely a challenging beginning, because this is Formula One. But we’re not there to finish last. I believe given this organization, with these individuals, this staff, there’s no reason why we won't be able to progress rapidly to a competitive level and taste victory.”

To that end recruitment has been in top gear, with personnel now up to more than 400 and intended to reach the target of six hundred swiftly. Complementing their current base at the UK base, the organization are in the phase of building an main base at Fishers, Indiana in Indianapolis and there is the GM works in North Carolina, where they are developing the center to build the 2029 engine, set for 2029 – for now they will operate with Ferrari power units – and the aerodynamic facility in Germany. It is a complex structure, at odds with the movement in Formula One for more centralization, and has led to the fresh organizational mindset to which the CTO alluded.

NASA Inspiration

“We've drawn heavily from the Apollo project,” remarked the team principal shortly before the British GP in July. “We’re realistic, we know how tough it is. The deadlines, are extremely compressed. Alright, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but it can seem that way.”

So they have implemented, rather than the usual hierarchical system, a flat management structure comparable to that of NASA's, where there were a variety of project teams all focusing on various components of the project in a different facilities.

“In a system where you follow a process where a challenge emerges and they raise it up to their manager, that supervisor talks to a manager at a different location, it is relayed back, it’s super slow,” explains the CTO. “So we empower staff to really get on with it. Avoiding hierarchical consent for everything is much smoother and more rapid.”

What Lies Ahead

The success of this flexible strategy will be proven in the heat of competition next season and there is a considerable amount at stake for the sport, too. The Cadillac team have recruited as their test driver the young Californian Colton Herta