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Approximately a full year ago at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were finally given the go-ahead as the world of Formula One's latest participant for the 2026 season. Constructing the squad from nothing has required a frenetic pace of work that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo moon landing. As F1 descends on the Vegas strip this weekend, Cadillac are aware the deadline is approaching.

The Tight Timeline to Australia

At the season finale of the championship to be staged in the United States, with just over 100 days to go before they make their debut for the inaugural time in Melbourne at the first race of 2026, Cadillac have made significant progress but, in what must seem like a monumental challenge, they are conscious there will not be sufficient time.

The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, became part of the nascent team in early 2023 soon after it was established, when the squad were without even an confirmed place. He has been at its center from that point and enjoys a knowing grin when reflecting on the ride.

“You might get a brief moment thinking back at what the team has achieved and go: ‘Wow, how impressive what we’ve done in less than three years,’” he says. “And then the next minute you think: ‘Yeah, there is still quite a lot to do.’”

A Unique Challenge

Chester had success at the Renault team in Alonso's title-winning seasons of the mid-2000s and was in command of engineering strategy at the recently formed Mercedes-Benz Formula E team, but nothing has truly matched the mission of launching the all-American Cadillac marque, a works entry sponsored by the parent company, General Motors, into F1.

“Establishing an grand prix team from nothing, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?” he observes. “There's nothing comparable. In an well-set team you rarely get the possibility to transform organizational mindset.”

With every day that elapses thoughts are more focused on the approaching critical moment in the Australian GP and goals are being set realistically.

“One must presume that any new team entering the sport is likely to start at the back but just making it to the starting line will be an feat in itself,” Lowdon commented this year and while Nick Chester agreed with this sentiment he felt the team had a statement to make as well.

“Our primary goal we want to show is that we belong on the grid,” Chester explains. “In order that we turn up and we operate well. We seek to prove that we are a serious contender performing the proper actions on the race track. After we’ve shown that we’re really credible, then we will focus on progression subsequently.”

Racing Talent and Team Building Drive

In August they contracted Checo Pérez and Bottas as their pilots for the 2026 season, a tandem distinguished for their priceless expertise in competing at the sharp end in two top-tier teams, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes, and Valtteri Bottas echoed the sentiment of determined optimism.

“Certainly, we are pragmatic,” he said. “We have a massive task to do, and it’s going to be most likely a difficult start, because this is Formula One. But our goal isn't to remain at the rear. I am confident with this structure, with these individuals, these people, there is every reason that we shouldn’t be able to advance swiftly to a competitive level and enjoy some success.”

To achieve that goal staff acquisition has been in overdrive, with employees now up to in excess of 400 and planned to reach the goal of 600 members rapidly. Complementing their current base at the UK base, the squad are in the process of finishing an headquarters at Fishers, Indiana in the Indianapolis area and there is the GM works in North Carolina, where they are developing the plant to produce the new engine, planned for 2029 – in the meantime they will operate with Ferrari power units – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Germany. It is a complex organization, contrary to the direction in the sport for more centralization, and has led to the innovative team culture to which Nick Chester referred.

Space Mission Model

“It’s highly modelled on the NASA moon mission,” stated Graeme Lowdon shortly before the British GP in mid-season. “We have a clear-eyed view, we recognize how difficult it is. The timelines, they’re super, super, super short. Alright, we aren't launching a lunar mission, but the pressure is comparable.”

So they have implemented, rather than the usual hierarchical system, a decentralized management comparable to that of the space agency's, where there were a range of Apollo teams all focusing on various components of the project across a multiple sites.

“When you must follow a procedure where someone has a problem and they escalate it to their manager, that manager talks to a manager at a different location, it is relayed back, it becomes inefficient,” notes Chester. “Therefore we enable team members to really get on with it. Eliminating hierarchical consent for all decisions is far more efficient and quicker.”

What Lies Ahead

The success of this agile approach will be tested in the intensity of Grand Prix when the season begins and there is a significant degree on the line for F1, too. Cadillac have signed as their reserve driver the emerging American Colton Herta