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A little more than twelve months ago at the Nevada Grand Prix, Cadillac were finally awarded the go-ahead as the world of Formula One's newest entry for 2026. Building the squad from scratch has required a hectic operating tempo that the team boss, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo moon landing. As the sport arrives on Las Vegas this race weekend, Cadillac are aware time is getting tight.

The Countdown to Melbourne

At the last event of the championship to be hosted in the United States, with approximately 100 days to go before they hit the circuit for the inaugural time in Australia at the 2026 season opener, Cadillac have advanced rapidly but, in what must seem like a sisyphean challenge, they are aware there will never be sufficient time.

The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, became part of the newly formed project in March 2023 shortly after it was formed, when the squad were without even an official entry. He has been at its core from that point and enjoys a amused expression when thinking about the experience.

“You can have five minutes looking back at what you’ve done and go: ‘Incredible, what an achievement what we have built in under three years,’” he notes. “Then the following moment you consider: ‘Yeah, there is still a great deal to do.’”

A One-of-a-Kind Challenge

Chester achieved victories at Renault in Alonso's championship-winning campaigns of the mid-2000s and was in command of technical development at the then-new Mercedes electric racing team, but nothing has been quite like the mission of bringing the iconic American Cadillac brand, a works entry supported by the parent company, General Motors, into F1.

“Building an Formula One team from scratch, 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 transform team culture.”

With every day that passes minds are increasingly concentrated on the impending decisive point in Australia and expectations are being handled.

“One must presume that a brand-new squad coming in is likely to start at the back but simply getting on to the grid will be an feat in itself,” the team principal commented recently and while Chester echoed this he felt the team had a reputation to build as well.

“The initial objective we aim to demonstrate is that we deserve to be there,” he emphasizes. “So that we turn up and we perform competently. We seek to prove that we are a serious contender executing the correct procedures on the circuit. Once we prove that our credentials are solid, then we want to show improvement from there on.”

Driver Lineup and Recruitment Effort

In the summer they recruited Sergio Pérez and Bottas as their racers for 2026, a duo distinguished for their priceless expertise in operating at the leading positions in two of the sport’s biggest teams, the Red Bull team and Mercedes, and the Finnish driver reflected the mood of fighting spirit.

“Of course, we’re realistic,” he commented. “There’s going to be a mountain of work to do, and we expect probably a difficult start, because it's the top level of motorsport. But we’re not there to stay at the back. I believe with this structure, with these individuals, this staff, there is every reason that we won't be able to progress rapidly to the front and taste victory.”

To achieve that goal recruitment has been in top gear, with staff now up to more than 400 and intended to reach the objective of 600 rapidly. Alongside their existing facility at the UK base, the squad are in the midst of building an headquarters at the Fishers location in Indianapolis and there is the GM works in Charlotte, where they are constructing the facility to produce the new engine, scheduled for 2029 – in the meantime they will run Ferrari power units – and the aerodynamic facility in Cologne. It is a sophisticated organisation, different from the trend in Formula One for greater centralisation, and has led to the new cultural approach to which the CTO referred.

Space Mission Inspiration

“It's closely based on the NASA moon mission,” remarked the team principal ahead of the British Grand Prix in July. “We have a clear-eyed view, we recognize how tough it is. The deadlines, are incredibly tight. Well, we’re not putting a man on the moon, but the pressure is comparable.”

So they have implemented, rather than the conventional chain of command, a flat management structure akin to that of Nasa’s, where there were a variety of Apollo teams all tackling distinct elements of the program across a different facilities.

“When you must follow a protocol where a challenge emerges and they report it to their team leader, that manager consults a manager at a different location, it goes back down the chain, the process is very slow,” says Chester. “We give authority to staff to handle things directly. Avoiding management approval for each action is so much cleaner and faster.”

What Lies Ahead

The effectiveness of this nimble approach will be evaluated in the pressure of racing next season and there is no little amount riding on this for Formula One, too. Cadillac have signed as their reserve driver the young American Colton Herta