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A little more than one year in the past at the Vegas Grand Prix, Cadillac were finally awarded the go-ahead as the world of Formula One's newest entrant for 2026. Establishing the squad from the ground up has required a hectic operating tempo that the principal, Graeme Lowdon, has likened to the NASA lunar mission. As F1 descends on the Vegas strip this weekend, the team understand the deadline is approaching.

The Countdown to Melbourne

At the last event of the season to be staged in the United States, with around 100 days to go before they make their debut for the first time in Melbourne at the first race of 2026, Cadillac have made significant progress but, in what must seem like a monumental task, they are conscious there will not be enough hours in the day.

The CTO, Nick Chester, became part of the newly formed team in the spring of 2023 shortly after it was created, when the squad were without even an official entry. He has been at its core from that point and gets a knowing grin when considering the experience.

“You might get a short period reflecting at what you have accomplished and go: ‘Amazing, what an achievement what we have built in under three years,’” he notes. “Then the very next instant you realize: ‘Well, there is still a great deal to do.’”

A One-of-a-Kind Challenge

Chester had success at the Renault team in Alonso's title-winning years of 2005/2006 and was in charge of technical direction at the recently formed Mercedes electric racing team, but no previous experience has truly matched the challenge of introducing the all-American Cadillac name, a works entry supported by the corporate entity, General Motors, into Formula One.

“Creating an Formula One team from scratch, when are you ever going to get a chance to do that?” Chester remarks. “It is like nothing else. In an existing team you won't have the chance to alter team culture.”

With each passing day that elapses minds are increasingly concentrated on the impending decisive point in Australia and expectations are being set realistically.

“You have to assume that any new team joining the grid is going to be last but just making it to the starting line will be an achievement in itself,” Graeme Lowdon commented earlier this year and while Chester agreed with this sentiment he thought the team had a statement to make as well.

“The first thing we want to show is that we should be there,” he says. “In order that we arrive and we function efficiently. We aim to demonstrate that we are a serious contender performing the right things on the race track. When we prove that our credentials are solid, then we will focus on forward movement subsequently.”

Racing Talent and Team Building Push

In late summer they signed Sergio Perez and Bottas as their drivers for the 2026 season, a duo remarkable for their vast knowledge in performing at the front in two championship-winning squads, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes, and Bottas reflected the attitude of combative optimism.

“Naturally, we’re realistic,” Bottas stated. “We face a huge amount of work to do, and we expect probably a tough opening, because it's the top level of motorsport. But our goal isn't to stay at the back. I am confident with this structure, with this group, these people, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to progress rapidly to a competitive level and achieve good results.”

To achieve that goal staff acquisition has been in overdrive, with staff now up to in excess of 400 and planned to reach the goal of 600 quickly. Complementing their existing facility at the UK base, the squad are in the process of finishing an HQ at the Fishers location in Indy and there is the GM works in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are building the plant to produce the 2029 engine, planned for the 2029 season – until then they will run Ferrari power units – and the aerodynamic facility in Cologne, Germany. It is a complex structure, different from the movement in the sport for greater centralisation, and has prompted the new cultural approach to which the CTO referred to.

NASA Blueprint

“It’s highly modelled on the Apollo project,” remarked the team principal just before the Silverstone race in the summer. “We are pragmatic, we recognize how challenging it is. The timelines, are incredibly tight. OK, we aren't launching a lunar mission, but it feels like it sometimes.”

So they have embraced, as opposed to the usual hierarchical system, a non-hierarchical approach akin to that of Nasa’s, where there were a variety of project teams all focusing on different aspects of the program in a variety of locations.

“In a system where you follow a protocol where someone has a problem and they report it to their supervisor, that manager communicates with a leader somewhere else, it is relayed back, it’s super slow,” explains Chester. “Therefore we enable people to handle things directly. Avoiding management approval for each action is far more efficient and quicker.”

What Lies Ahead

The effectiveness of this nimble approach will be evaluated in the heat of competition next season and there is a considerable amount at stake for F1, too. The Cadillac team have signed as their reserve driver the emerging Californian Colton Herta