Just over twelve months previously at the Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were at last awarded the go-ahead as the world of Formula One's most recent participant for 2026. Constructing the squad from scratch has required a hectic pace of work that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo program. As the sport arrives on the Vegas strip this race weekend, Cadillac are aware the clock is ticking.
The Countdown to Melbourne
At the last event of the campaign to be staged in the United States, with approximately a hundred days to go before they hit the circuit for the first time in Melbourne at the first race of 2026, Cadillac have made significant progress but, in what must seem like a sisyphean challenge, they are cognizant there will never be adequate time.
The CTO, Nick Chester, joined the nascent operation in the spring of 2023 shortly after it was formed, when the team were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its heart from that point and gets a knowing grin when thinking about the journey.
“There might be a short period thinking back at what the team has achieved and go: ‘Wow, how impressive what the team has created in a short three-year period,’” he says. “But then the following moment you realize: ‘Yes, there is still a significant amount to do.’”
A Unique Opportunity
Nick Chester had success at Renault in Alonso's victorious campaigns of 2005 and 2006 and was in command of technical development at the new Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but no previous experience has truly matched the challenge of bringing the iconic American Cadillac brand, a manufacturer-backed entry backed by the parent company, General Motors Corporation, into Formula One.
“Building an F1 team from nothing, when will you ever have the possibility to do that?” he says. “It's unparalleled. In an existing team you rarely get the chance to alter organizational mindset.”
With each day that passes thoughts are more focused on the looming critical moment in Australia and goals are being managed.
“It's reasonable to expect that any new team joining the grid is going to be last but merely participating will be an accomplishment in itself,” the team principal noted recently and while Nick Chester echoed this he thought the squad had a reputation to build as well.
“The first thing we aim to demonstrate is that we belong on the grid,” Chester explains. “So we turn up and we operate well. We want to show that we are a serious contender performing the correct procedures on the track. After we’ve shown that we’re really credible, then we want to show improvement subsequently.”
Driver Lineup and Team Building Drive
In late summer they contracted Checo Pérez and Valtteri Bottas as their drivers for 2026, a pair distinguished for their vast knowledge in competing at the sharp end in two of the sport’s biggest teams, Red Bull and the Mercedes team, and Bottas reflected the mood of determined optimism.
“Naturally, we’re realistic,” he commented. “We face a mountain of work to do, and it will likely be most likely a tough opening, because it's the top level of motorsport. But we’re not there to remain at the rear. I believe with this structure, with this team, these people, there’s no reason why we can't manage to advance swiftly up to the pace and taste victory.”
To achieve that goal hiring has been in overdrive, with staff now at in excess of 400 and intended to reach the objective of six hundred swiftly. Complementing their existing facility at the UK base, the squad are in the process of building an main base at the Fishers location in Indianapolis and there is the GM works in Charlotte, where they are building the facility to build the new engine, planned for 2029 – until then they will operate with Ferrari engines – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Germany. It is a intricate structure, at odds with the movement in Formula One for more centralization, and has prompted the fresh organizational mindset to which Chester referred to.
Space Mission Model
“We've drawn heavily from the NASA moon mission,” stated the team principal just before the British GP in mid-season. “We are pragmatic, we understand how tough it is. The schedules, they’re super, super, super short. Well, it's not a space expedition, but it can seem that way.”
So they have embraced, as opposed to the conventional chain of command, a flat management structure akin to that of the space agency's, where there were a range of specialist groups all focusing on various components of the program across a different facilities.
“If you have to go through a procedure where a challenge emerges and they escalate it to their team leader, that manager talks to a manager in another department, it goes back down the chain, it’s super slow,” notes Nick Chester. “So we empower team members to handle things directly. Moving away from managerial sign-off for everything is much smoother and quicker.”
What Lies Ahead
The efficacy of this nimble strategy will be tested in the heat of competition next season and there is a significant degree riding on this for the sport, too. The Cadillac team have taken on as their test driver the young Californian Colton Herta
