A little more than twelve months previously at the Nevada Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were finally granted the official approval as the world of Formula One's most recent participant for the 2026 season. Building the team from the ground up has required a hectic pace of work that the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the NASA lunar mission. As Formula One descends on Vegas this weekend, Cadillac are aware the clock is ticking.
The Tight Timeline to Melbourne
At the season finale of the season to be held in the America, with just over a hundred days to go before they make their debut for the maiden outing in Melbourne at the first race of 2026, Cadillac have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a sisyphean challenge, they are aware there will not be enough hours in the day.
The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, joined the embryonic project in early 2023 shortly after it was formed, when the organization were without even an approved entry. He has been at its core since then and gets a knowing grin when considering the ride.
“You can have a brief moment looking back at what you have accomplished and say: ‘Incredible, how impressive what we have built in under three years,’” he says. “And then the following moment you consider: ‘Yes, there is still quite a lot to do.’”
A One-of-a-Kind Task
The CTO enjoyed success at Renault in Fernando Alonso’s title-winning seasons of 2005/2006 and was in control of technical development at the then-new Mercedes Formula E team, but no previous experience has truly matched the task of introducing the all-American Cadillac brand, a works entry sponsored by the corporate entity, GM, into Formula One.
“Creating an grand prix team from nothing, when will you ever have the possibility to do that?” he says. “It is like nothing else. In an well-set team you rarely get the opportunity to transform organizational mindset.”
With each passing day that passes thoughts are more focused on the impending decisive point in the Australian GP and goals are being managed.
“You have to assume that a brand-new squad 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 felt the organization had a reputation to build as well.
“The initial objective we aim to demonstrate is that we should be there,” he emphasizes. “In order that we show up and we function efficiently. We want to show that this is a professional operation doing the proper actions on the track. After we’ve shown that we are a legitimate team, then we want to show improvement subsequently.”
Pilot Selection and Hiring Effort
In late summer they signed Sergio Perez and Bottas as their pilots for the 2026 season, a tandem notable for their priceless expertise in operating at the front in two championship-winning squads, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes-AMG, and Valtteri Bottas expressed the attitude of fighting spirit.
“Of course, we have a realistic outlook,” he said. “We face a mountain of work to do, and it’s going to be most likely a tough opening, because this is Formula One. But our goal isn't to finish last. In my view given this organization, with these individuals, these people, it's entirely possible we shouldn’t be able to advance swiftly to a competitive level and achieve good results.”
To that end recruitment has been in full swing, with employees now at more than 400 and planned to hit the goal of 600 quickly. Alongside their existing facility at the Silverstone circuit, the team are in the midst of finishing an main base at Fishers in Indianapolis and there is the GM works in Charlotte, where they are constructing the plant to manufacture the 2029 engine, set for 2029 – until then they will run power from Ferrari – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Cologne. It is a sophisticated organisation, contrary to the direction in the sport for increased consolidation, and has inspired the innovative team culture to which Chester referred.
NASA Blueprint
“It's closely based on the NASA moon mission,” said Lowdon shortly before the Silverstone race in mid-season. “We have a clear-eyed view, we understand how challenging it is. The schedules, are incredibly tight. Alright, it's not a space expedition, but it feels like it sometimes.”
So they have adopted, instead of the usual hierarchical system, a flat management structure similar to that of NASA's, where there were a range of Apollo teams all focusing on distinct elements of the mission across a multiple sites.
“When you must follow a protocol where a challenge emerges and they report it to their manager, that supervisor talks to a supervisor in another department, it travels back down, the process is very slow,” says the CTO. “So we empower staff to handle things directly. Moving away from management approval for all decisions is far more efficient and quicker.”
Upcoming Challenges
The efficacy of this flexible methodology will be tested in the pressure of racing next season and there is no little amount riding on this for Formula One, too. Cadillac have taken on as their development driver the 25-year-old Californian Colton Herta
