A little more than twelve months previously at the Nevada Grand Prix, Cadillac were at last granted the official approval as the world of Formula One's newest participant for the 2026 season. Constructing the organization from scratch has required a hectic work rate that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the Apollo moon landing. As F1 converges on Las Vegas this weekend, Cadillac understand time is getting tight.
The Tight Timeline to Melbourne
At the final race of the championship to be staged in the US, with approximately 100 days to go before they take to the track for the inaugural time in Australia at the first race of 2026, Cadillac have made significant progress but, in what must seem like a never-ending challenge, they are cognizant there will never be adequate time.
The CTO, Nick Chester, became part of the embryonic operation in March 2023 shortly after it was formed, when the squad were without even an approved entry. He has been at its center since then and has a knowing grin when thinking about the journey.
“You might get a brief moment thinking back at what you have accomplished and think: ‘Incredible, isn’t this fantastic what we have built in less than three years,’” he says. “Then the next minute you think: ‘Yes, we’ve still got quite a lot to do.’”
A Unique Task
The CTO enjoyed success at the Renault team in Alonso's title-winning years of 2005 and 2006 and was in command of engineering strategy at the new Mercedes Formula E team, but nothing has been quite like the task of introducing the iconic American Cadillac brand, a factory team sponsored by the corporate entity, General Motors Corporation, into F1.
“Establishing an Formula One team from scratch, when will you ever have the possibility to do that?” he observes. “It's unparalleled. In an well-set team you won't have the opportunity to change organizational mindset.”
With every day that elapses minds are more focused on the looming decisive point in Melbourne and targets are being set realistically.
“It's reasonable to expect that any incoming team joining the grid is probably going to finish last but merely participating will be an feat in itself,” the team principal commented this year and while the CTO shared this view he felt the organization had a statement to make as well.
“The first thing we aim to demonstrate is that we deserve to be there,” he emphasizes. “In order that we arrive and we operate well. We want to show that we are a serious contender executing the correct procedures on the track. When we’ve shown that our credentials are solid, then we aim to demonstrate improvement from there on.”
Driver Lineup and Hiring Drive
In August they contracted Checo Pérez and Bottas as their drivers for 2026, a tandem distinguished for their vast knowledge in competing at the front in two top-tier teams, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes, and Bottas expressed the sentiment of combative optimism.
“Naturally, we’re realistic,” Bottas stated. “We face a mountain of work to do, and it’s going to be most likely a tough opening, because it is F1. But we aren't joining to remain at the rear. I am confident given this organization, with these individuals, this staff, it's entirely possible we can't manage to get relatively quickly to a competitive level and taste victory.”
To realize that ambition recruitment has been in top gear, with employees now reaching over 400 and scheduled to attain the objective of six hundred rapidly. Complementing their present headquarters at Silverstone, the team are in the phase of finishing an main base at the Fishers location in the Indianapolis area and there is the GM plant in North Carolina, where they are developing the plant to build the new engine, planned for 2029 – until then they will run Ferrari engines – and the aerodynamic facility in Cologne. It is a sophisticated structure, at odds with the trend in the sport for increased consolidation, and has led to the fresh organizational mindset to which the CTO referred.
NASA Inspiration
“It's closely based on the Apollo project,” remarked Graeme Lowdon just before the Silverstone race in the summer. “We are pragmatic, we understand how tough it is. The schedules, they’re super, super, super short. Alright, it's not a space expedition, but it can seem that way.”
So they have implemented, as opposed to the usual hierarchical system, 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 project across a different facilities.
“When you must follow a process where a challenge emerges and they raise it up to their team leader, that manager communicates with a leader somewhere else, it is relayed back, the process is very slow,” notes the CTO. “So we empower staff to handle things directly. Eliminating management approval for all decisions is much smoother and quicker.”
What Lies Ahead
The efficacy of this flexible strategy will be proven in the intensity of Grand Prix when the season begins and there is a significant degree at stake for F1, too. Cadillac have signed as their test driver the young American Colton Herta
