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Just over a full year in the past at the Nevada Grand Prix, the Cadillac racing team were ultimately given the official approval as the world of Formula One's most recent entrant for the 2026 season. Constructing the squad from the ground up has required a frenetic work rate that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has equated to the Apollo program. As F1 converges on Las Vegas this weekend, Cadillac know the deadline is approaching.

The Race Against Time to Australia

At the season finale of the championship to be held in the United States, with just over a hundred days to go before they make their debut for the maiden outing in Melbourne at the 2026 opener, the Cadillac F1 project have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a monumental endeavor, they are aware there will never be adequate time.

The CTO, Nick Chester, came aboard the newly formed project in early 2023 shortly after it was established, when the squad were without even an official entry. He has been at its core from that point and gets a wry smile when considering the experience.

“You might get a short period looking back at what you have accomplished and say: ‘Wow, how impressive what we’ve done in under three years,’” he notes. “Then the next minute you consider: ‘Yes, there is still a great deal to do.’”

A Unique Opportunity

Nick Chester had success at Renault in the driver Fernando Alonso's title-winning seasons of 2005 and 2006 and was in charge of engineering strategy at the recently formed Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but no other project has been quite like the mission of launching the all-American Cadillac brand, a manufacturer-backed entry sponsored by the corporate entity, GM, into the pinnacle of motorsport.

“Creating an F1 team from nothing, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he observes. “It is like nothing else. In an established team you won't have the chance to change organizational mindset.”

With each passing day that goes by minds are increasingly concentrated on the looming moment of truth in the Australian GP and goals are being managed.

“One must presume that any incoming team entering the sport is likely to start at the back but simply getting on to the grid will be an achievement in itself,” Graeme Lowdon noted this year and while the CTO agreed with this sentiment he felt the squad had a statement to make as well.

“The initial objective we want to show is that we belong on the grid,” he emphasizes. “So we arrive and we operate well. We aim to demonstrate that we are a serious contender doing the correct procedures on the race track. When we prove that our credentials are solid, then we want to show improvement subsequently.”

Racing Talent and Hiring Drive

In the summer they recruited Sergio Perez and Bottas as their drivers for 2026, a duo remarkable for their vast knowledge in operating at the sharp end in two top-tier teams, Red Bull Racing and the Mercedes team, and the Finnish driver reflected the sentiment of fighting spirit.

“Certainly, we are pragmatic,” he commented. “We face a mountain of work to do, and it will likely be most likely a difficult start, because it is F1. But we’re not there to remain at the rear. I believe with this setup, with this group, these personnel, there’s no reason why we can't manage to advance swiftly to the front and taste victory.”

To that end staff acquisition has been in top gear, with employees now up to over 400 and intended to reach the target of 600 quickly. In addition to their existing facility at Silverstone, the squad are in the process of building an main base at the Fishers location in Indy and there is the GM works in Charlotte, where they are constructing the facility to manufacture the new engine, planned for the 2029 season – until then they will run power from Ferrari – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Cologne. It is a sophisticated organization, at odds with the movement in the sport for more centralization, and has led to the new cultural approach to which the CTO referred to.

NASA Inspiration

“We've drawn heavily from the NASA moon mission,” remarked Graeme Lowdon just before the British Grand Prix in mid-season. “We are pragmatic, we recognize how tough it is. The schedules, are extremely compressed. Well, it's not a space expedition, but the pressure is comparable.”

So they have implemented, instead of the usual hierarchical system, a non-hierarchical approach comparable to that of the space agency's, where there were a range of specialist groups all working on distinct elements of the mission across a different facilities.

“If you have to go through a protocol where a challenge emerges and they report it to their supervisor, that manager talks to a supervisor somewhere else, it is relayed back, the process is very slow,” says Chester. “Therefore we enable people to really get on with it. Avoiding hierarchical consent for all decisions is much smoother and faster.”

What Lies Ahead

The effectiveness of this agile methodology will be evaluated in the heat of competition in 2026 and there is no little amount on the line for F1, too. Cadillac have recruited as their development driver the 25-year-old Californian Colton Herta