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Just over twelve months previously at the Nevada Grand Prix, Cadillac were at last given the official approval as Formula One’s latest entrant for 2026. Establishing the organization from the ground up has required a frenetic work rate that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has compared to the Apollo program. As Formula One converges on Las Vegas this race weekend, Cadillac understand the deadline is approaching.

The Tight Timeline to Melbourne

At the season finale of the campaign to be hosted in the United States, with around 100 days to go before they make their debut for the inaugural time in Australia at the 2026 season opener, Cadillac have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a monumental challenge, they are cognizant there will never be enough hours in the day.

The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, came aboard the newly formed team in March 2023 not long after it was created, when the team were without even an official entry. He has been at its heart from that point and enjoys a knowing grin when considering the ride.

“You can have a short period looking back at what you have accomplished and think: ‘Incredible, how impressive what we’ve done in a short three-year period,’” Chester states. “But then the following moment you consider: ‘Yes, there is still a significant amount to do.’”

A Unique Task

The CTO achieved victories at Renault in Fernando Alonso’s victorious years of 2005/2006 and was in charge of technical direction at the new Mercedes Formula E team, but nothing has quite compared with the task of launching the iconic American Cadillac brand, a manufacturer-backed entry backed by the parent company, GM, into F1.

“Creating an F1 team from the ground up, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he observes. “It's unparalleled. In an well-set team you don’t get the possibility to change organizational mindset.”

With every day that passes focus are increasingly concentrated on the looming decisive point in the Australian GP and expectations are being set realistically.

“You have to assume that any new team joining the grid is likely to start at the back but just making it to the starting line will be an achievement in itself,” Graeme Lowdon commented earlier this year and while Chester shared this view he felt the squad had a statement to make as well.

“The first thing we want to show is that we belong on the grid,” Chester explains. “So that we show up and we perform competently. We aim to demonstrate that we are a serious contender performing the proper actions on the circuit. Once we prove that we are a legitimate team, then we want to show forward movement after that.”

Driver Lineup and Team Building Effort

In August they signed Checo Pérez and Bottas as their racers for 2026, a pair distinguished for their priceless expertise in operating at the front in two top-tier teams, the Red Bull team and Mercedes, and the Finnish driver reflected the attitude of combative optimism.

“Certainly, we are pragmatic,” he said. “There’s going to be a huge amount of work to do, and we expect probably a tough opening, because it is F1. But we aren't joining to stay at the back. I am confident with this setup, with this team, these people, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to advance swiftly to the front and achieve good results.”

To achieve that goal recruitment has been in full swing, with staff now up to in excess of 400 and planned to attain the goal of 600 members quickly. Alongside their current base at the Silverstone circuit, the squad are in the process of completing an HQ at the Fishers location in Indy and there is the GM works in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are constructing the facility to manufacture the power unit, planned for 2029 – until then they will run Ferrari power units – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Germany. It is a sophisticated organisation, at odds with the direction in the sport for increased consolidation, and has led to the new cultural approach to which Chester referred to.

Space Mission Inspiration

“It's closely based on the Apollo project,” remarked Lowdon ahead of the Silverstone race in mid-season. “We have a clear-eyed view, we recognize how difficult it is. The timelines, are incredibly tight. Well, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but the pressure is comparable.”

So they have embraced, instead of the traditional management structure, a decentralized management akin to that of the space agency's, where there were a variety of Apollo teams all tackling various components of the project at a different facilities.

“In a system where you follow a process where a challenge emerges and they escalate it to their supervisor, that leader communicates with a manager somewhere else, it goes back down the chain, it’s super slow,” explains the CTO. “We give authority to staff to take charge. Eliminating hierarchical consent for everything is much smoother and faster.”

The Future

The success of this flexible strategy will be proven in the heat of competition in 2026 and there is a considerable amount riding on this for the sport, too. Cadillac have recruited as their development driver the emerging American Colton Herta