In a remarkable feat of engineering and organisation, Cadillac is racing against the clock to establish its new Formula One team from the ground up, with its sights set on making its grand prix debut at the 2026 season opener in Melbourne.
The NASA Playbook for F1 Success
With just over 100 days remaining until the team must hit the track in Australia, the project's scale and ambition have drawn comparisons to the Apollo moon landing. Team Principal Graeme Lowdon has explicitly stated their approach is "highly modelled on the Apollo project," acknowledging the super-short timelines and immense challenge.
Chief Technical Officer Nick Chester, who joined the nascent operation in March 2023, reflects on the whirlwind experience. "You can have five minutes looking back at what you’ve done and go: ‘Wow, isn’t this fantastic what we’ve done in less than three years,’" he says. "And then the next minute you think: ‘Yeah, we’ve still got quite a lot to do.’"
Building a Culture from Scratch
The key to their rapid development lies in a radical departure from traditional F1 team structures. Instead of a hierarchical system, Cadillac has implemented a flat management structure inspired by NASA, empowering employees to make decisions without waiting for managerial approval.
"If you have to go through a process where someone has a problem and they raise it up to their manager, that manager talks to a manager somewhere else, it goes back down the chain, it’s super slow," Chester explains. "So we empower people to really get on with it. Moving away from management approval for everything is so much cleaner and quicker."
This cultural shift is being tested across a complex, decentralised operation that includes:
- A base at Silverstone
- A new headquarters in Fishers, Indianapolis
- GM facilities in Charlotte, North Carolina, for future engine manufacturing
- The Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne
Star Drivers and American Ambition
In a major coup for the new team, Cadillac secured the services of two highly experienced drivers for its 2026 campaign: Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas. Their combined expertise from top teams Red Bull and Mercedes is considered invaluable.
Bottas captured the team's determined spirit, stating, "Of course, we’re realistic. There’s going to be a mountain of work to do... But we’re not there to stay at the back. I believe with this structure, with this group, these people, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to get relatively quickly up to the pace and enjoy some success."
The team is also nurturing American talent, with IndyCar winner Colton Herta signed as a test driver and set to compete in F2 next season, potentially paving the way for an American driver in the Cadillac seat.
Recruitment has been in overdrive, with personnel numbers now exceeding 400 and targeting 600. Despite the frenetic pace, Chester notes the positive atmosphere, saying, "The level of enthusiasm, excitement, collaboration is brilliant. There are a lot of smiling faces around the factory."
For now, the team is focused on the immediate goal: simply making it to the grid in Melbourne. As Chester puts it, "The first thing we want to show is that we should be there." With a NASA-inspired strategy and a clear vision, Cadillac's ambitious entry into the world of Formula One is a story of innovation, determination, and a race against time itself.
