Just over twelve months in the past at the Vegas Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were finally given the official approval as the world of Formula One's newest participant for 2026. Constructing the team from nothing has entailed a intense pace of work that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo moon landing. As the sport descends on Vegas this weekend, the team know the clock is ticking.
The Countdown to Australia
At the final race of the campaign to be hosted in the America, with just over a hundred days to go before they make their debut for the first time in Australia at the 2026 opener, the Cadillac F1 project have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a never-ending endeavor, they are conscious there will never be sufficient time.
The technical director, Nick Chester, came aboard the newly formed project in early 2023 not long after it was formed, when the team were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its core ever since and gets a wry smile when considering the experience.
“There might be five minutes reflecting at what you have accomplished and think: ‘Incredible, what an achievement what the team has created in a short three-year period,’” he says. “Then the very next instant you think: ‘Yes, we’ve still got a great deal to do.’”
A Unique Challenge
The CTO achieved victories at Renault in Alonso's victorious campaigns of the mid-2000s and was in command of technical development at the new Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but no other project has been quite like the mission of launching the all-American Cadillac marque, a factory team supported by the corporate entity, GM, into Formula One.
“Establishing an Formula One team from the ground up, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” he observes. “It's unparalleled. In an well-set team you won't have the opportunity to change cultural approach.”
With each passing day that elapses minds are sharper on the impending decisive point in Australia and goals are being handled.
“It's reasonable to expect that any incoming team coming in is likely to start at the back but simply getting on to the grid will be an achievement in itself,” Graeme Lowdon commented this year and while Chester echoed this he felt the organization had a reputation to build as well.
“The first thing we want to show is that we deserve to be there,” he emphasizes. “In order that we turn up and we function efficiently. We aim to demonstrate that we’re a proper team doing the right things on the track. When we prove that we are a legitimate team, then we aim to demonstrate progression from there on.”
Driver Lineup and Recruitment Drive
In the summer they contracted Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas as their drivers for 2026, a duo remarkable for their priceless expertise in performing at the sharp end in two top-tier teams, Red Bull and the Mercedes team, and Valtteri Bottas echoed the sentiment of combative optimism.
“Of course, we are pragmatic,” he commented. “We face a huge amount of work to do, and it will likely be almost certainly a challenging beginning, because this is Formula One. But we aren't joining to stay at the back. I am confident with this setup, with this team, this staff, there’s no reason why we can't manage to advance swiftly up to the pace and enjoy some success.”
To that end hiring has been in top gear, with personnel now up to more than 400 and planned to hit the goal of 600 swiftly. In addition to their present headquarters at the UK base, the squad are in the process of completing an main base at Fishers in the Indianapolis area and there is the General Motors facility in North Carolina, where they are developing the plant to produce the 2029 engine, set for 2029 – until then they will run power from Ferrari – and the Toyota wind tunnel in Germany. It is a sophisticated structure, different from the direction in F1 for increased consolidation, and has led to the innovative team culture to which the CTO referred.
Space Mission Inspiration
“It’s highly modelled on the Apollo project,” stated the team principal just before the Silverstone race in mid-season. “We are pragmatic, we understand how tough it is. The deadlines, are extremely compressed. Alright, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but it feels like it sometimes.”
So they have embraced, as opposed to the conventional chain of command, a decentralized management comparable to that of Nasa’s, where there were a assortment of specialist groups all focusing on distinct elements of the program in a different facilities.
“If you have to go through a protocol where a challenge emerges and they escalate it to their team leader, that supervisor communicates with a leader somewhere else, it goes back down the chain, the process is very slow,” explains the CTO. “We give authority to team members to really get on with it. Eliminating managerial sign-off for each action is much smoother and more rapid.”
What Lies Ahead
The success of this agile approach will be tested in the pressure of racing next season and there is a significant degree at stake for Formula One, too. Cadillac have taken on as their test driver the young American Colton Herta
