Just over twelve months previously at the Vegas Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were finally granted the official approval as F1's most recent entrant for 2026. Establishing the team from the ground up has required a frenetic operating tempo that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the Apollo moon landing. As F1 arrives on the Vegas strip this race weekend, Cadillac know the deadline is approaching.
The Race Against Time to Australia
At the last event of the season to be held in the US, with just over three months to go before they make their debut for the inaugural time in Melbourne at the first race of 2026, the Cadillac F1 project have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a monumental challenge, they are cognizant there will not be enough hours in the day.
The CTO, Nick Chester, became part of the newly formed operation in early 2023 soon after it was formed, when the organization were without even an approved entry. He has been at its core since then and has a knowing grin when reflecting on the experience.
“There might be a brief moment thinking back at what the team has achieved and think: ‘Amazing, how impressive what we’ve done in less than three years,’” he notes. “Then the next minute you realize: ‘Yeah, there is still a great deal to do.’”
A Unique Task
Nick Chester had success at Renault in Alonso's championship-winning seasons of the mid-2000s and was in command of technical direction at the then-new Mercedes Formula E team, but nothing has truly matched the task of launching the iconic American Cadillac marque, a works entry backed by the owner, General Motors Corporation, into the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Establishing an Formula One team from nothing, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he observes. “It's unparalleled. In an established team you won't have the possibility to change team culture.”
With each passing day that elapses minds are sharper on the approaching decisive point in Melbourne and expectations are being managed.
“You have to assume that any new team joining the grid is probably going to finish last but simply getting on to the grid will be an achievement in itself,” Lowdon stated this year and while Nick Chester shared this view he thought the organization had a reputation to build as well.
“Our primary goal we intend to prove is that we should be there,” he says. “In order that we show up and we function efficiently. We aim to demonstrate that this is a professional operation performing the correct procedures on the track. Once we’ve shown that we are a legitimate team, then we want to show progression subsequently.”
Pilot Selection and Recruitment Push
In the summer they recruited Sergio Pérez and Valtteri as their drivers for 2026, a duo remarkable for their vast knowledge in operating at the front in two of the sport’s biggest teams, Red Bull Racing and the Mercedes team, and Valtteri Bottas reflected the attitude of combative optimism.
“Of course, we’re realistic,” he said. “We face a mountain of work to do, and we expect probably a difficult start, because it's the top level of motorsport. But we’re not there to remain at the rear. I am confident with this setup, with these individuals, these people, there is every reason that we can't manage to get relatively quickly to a competitive level and taste victory.”
To that end recruitment has been in overdrive, with personnel now at more than 400 and planned to hit the goal of 600 swiftly. Complementing their current base at the Silverstone circuit, the team are in the midst of completing an main base at Fishers, Indiana in Indy and there is the GM works in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are building the plant to build the 2029 engine, set for 2029 – for now they will use power from Ferrari – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Germany. It is a sophisticated organization, contrary to the trend in F1 for increased consolidation, and has inspired the new cultural approach to which Nick Chester referred to.
Space Mission Model
“We've drawn heavily from the NASA moon mission,” remarked Graeme Lowdon shortly before the British GP in mid-season. “We have a clear-eyed view, we understand how tough it is. The deadlines, are extremely compressed. OK, it's not a space expedition, but the pressure is comparable.”
So they have adopted, as opposed to the conventional chain of command, a flat management structure comparable to that of Nasa’s, where there were a variety of project teams all working on distinct elements of the mission at a multiple sites.
“If you have to go through a procedure where a challenge emerges and they escalate it to their manager, that leader communicates with a supervisor at a different location, it is relayed back, it becomes inefficient,” says the CTO. “We give authority to team members to take charge. Avoiding management approval for each action is much smoother and quicker.”
Upcoming Challenges
The effectiveness of this agile approach will be proven in the pressure of racing when the season begins and there is a considerable amount at stake for Formula One, too. Cadillac have signed as their reserve driver the 25-year-old Californian Colton Herta
