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Approximately one year ago at the Nevada Grand Prix, Cadillac were ultimately awarded the official approval as Formula One’s latest entrant for the 2026 season. Building the team from nothing has required a hectic operating tempo that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the Apollo program. As Formula One descends on the Vegas strip this weekend, Cadillac are aware time is getting tight.

The Race Against Time to Australia

At the final race of the championship to be held in the US, with around three months to go before they hit the circuit for the inaugural time in Melbourne at the first race of 2026, the Cadillac F1 project have come on in leaps and bounds but, in what must seem like a monumental task, they are cognizant there will not be sufficient time.

The chief technical officer, Nick Chester, became part of the nascent operation in early 2023 soon after it was formed, when the team were without even an official entry. He has been at its core since then and enjoys a amused expression when thinking about the experience.

“There might be five minutes reflecting at what the team has achieved and go: ‘Incredible, what an achievement what we’ve done in under three years,’” he says. “But then the following moment you think: ‘Yes, we’ve still got a significant amount to do.’”

An Unprecedented Task

Nick Chester had success at Renault in Alonso's championship-winning seasons of the mid-2000s and was in charge of technical development at the new Mercedes Formula E team, but no previous experience has been quite like the mission of launching the all-American Cadillac brand, a manufacturer-backed entry sponsored by the parent company, General Motors, into the pinnacle of motorsport.

“Establishing an grand prix team from the ground up, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” he observes. “There's nothing comparable. In an established team you won't have the possibility to alter cultural approach.”

With each day that goes by minds are increasingly concentrated on the looming decisive point in the Australian GP and expectations are being managed.

“It's reasonable to expect that any incoming team entering the sport is likely to start at the back but just making it to the starting line will be an achievement in itself,” Lowdon commented earlier this year and while the CTO shared this view he thought the team had a statement to make as well.

“The first thing we intend to prove is that we should be there,” he says. “So that we arrive and we operate well. We aim to demonstrate that we are a serious contender performing the correct procedures on the track. When we prove that we’re really credible, then we aim to demonstrate improvement after that.”

Racing Talent and Team Building Effort

In August they signed Sergio Pérez and Bottas as their racers for 2026, a tandem remarkable for their invaluable experience in operating at the sharp end in two top-tier teams, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes, and Bottas echoed the attitude of determined optimism.

“Naturally, we are pragmatic,” he said. “There’s going to be a massive task to do, and we expect probably a challenging beginning, because it is F1. But we’re not there to remain at the rear. I am confident with this setup, with this group, these people, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to advance swiftly to the front and taste victory.”

To realize that ambition hiring has been in overdrive, with employees now up to over 400 and intended to reach the goal of 600 swiftly. Alongside their present headquarters at the UK base, the organization are in the phase of finishing an headquarters at Fishers, Indiana in Indy and there is the General Motors facility in North Carolina, where they are developing the center to produce the new engine, planned for 2029 – for now they will operate with power from Ferrari – and the Toyota's wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany. It is a sophisticated structure, contrary to the movement in Formula One for more centralization, and has inspired the fresh organizational mindset to which Chester alluded.

Apollo Inspiration

“We've drawn heavily from the Apollo project,” remarked Graeme Lowdon ahead of the British Grand Prix in mid-season. “We’re realistic, we know how difficult it is. The deadlines, are incredibly tight. Alright, we aren't launching a lunar mission, but the pressure is comparable.”

So they have adopted, as opposed to the traditional management structure, a non-hierarchical approach comparable to that of NASA's, where there were a assortment of project teams all tackling distinct elements of the program at a variety of locations.

“If you have to go through a process where someone has a problem and they raise it up to their team leader, that manager communicates with a manager somewhere else, it is relayed back, the process is very slow,” explains Nick Chester. “Therefore we enable staff to really get on with it. Avoiding management approval for everything is much smoother and faster.”

What Lies Ahead

The efficacy of this agile methodology will be evaluated in the pressure of racing in 2026 and there is no little amount at stake for F1, too. Cadillac have signed as their development driver the young American Colton Herta