By News18
Cadillac principal Graeme Lowdon asserts that Formula One鈥檚 newest team harbours boundless ambition and ample funding, though they fully anticipate finishing last in their debut season.
The General Motors brand received approval in March, following a 764-day entry process, to become the sport鈥檚 11th team and are now racing against time to be ready.
Testing commences in Barcelona on January 26, with free practice for the 2026 season-opener in Melbourne on March 6.
No drivers have been signed yet, despite ongoing rumours of familiar names potentially joining and the usual contenders being discussed. Instead, the team is focusing on more fundamental issues.
A recent tour of the team鈥檚 Silverstone facility revealed a quiet sense of purpose and substantial financial backing.
鈥淵ou will not see this team over-promising in any way,鈥 Lowdon told reporters. 鈥淏ut we do want to convey the fact that the ambitions are really limitless, as they should be.鈥
The team also has the support of TWG Global, whose CEO Mark Walter has an estimated net worth of $12.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Walter鈥檚 ownership interests include MLB鈥檚 Los Angeles Dodgers, Premier League soccer side Chelsea, and a soon-to-be-acquired majority stake in the Los Angeles Lakers NBA basketball franchise.
Perilous Path
Despite these advantages, the journey ahead remains challenging for a team that will start with Ferrari engines but plans to eventually produce their own.
Lowdon, whose U.S.-owned rivals Haas are in their 10th season, presents the situation to shareholders with a question: 鈥淐an you imagine if you鈥檝e owned a Formula One team for 10 years and then another team rocks up and beats you? You would be apoplectic. You have to assume that any new team coming in is going to be last. Otherwise, what鈥檚 gone wrong somewhere else? 鈥 We鈥檙e trying to be as competitive as we possibly can but We鈥檙e realistic. We know how difficult it is. We鈥檙e happy with our progress, but we just don鈥檛 know. Other than if we beat someone then someone鈥檚 going to be angry.鈥
Cadillac aims to have 600 staff by next season, many recruited from rival teams, and reports being already two-thirds of the way there, making them no longer the smallest outfit.
Although approval was granted only in March, preparations began long before. Wind tunnel work has been ongoing since mid-last year, and the first car floor was delivered in January. Roll hoop testing occurred in May, and a prototype steering wheel was ready by then.
鈥淲e鈥檝e already issued somewhere in the region of 6,000 drawings. We鈥檝e made 10,000 components already while we鈥檝e been kind of quiet,鈥 said Lowdon. 鈥淚f you just wait until you get the entry and then start doing everything that we鈥檝e been doing, you time out. It becomes an impossible task.鈥
Cadillac operates from sites on two continents, with a headquarters under construction in Indianapolis, manufacturing facilities in North Carolina and Michigan, and a design and logistics base at Silverstone.
Lowdon, a former CEO of the defunct Virgin and Marussia teams, stated that a different management approach was necessary. He leaned heavily on the structure used by the U.S. space programme in the 1960s and 70s.
鈥淲e need an engineer here (in Britain) talking to an engineer in Charlotte and another one in Warren, Michigan, or eventually in Fishers (Indiana). So we鈥檝e looked to have a very, very flat management structure,鈥 he explained. 鈥淚t鈥檚 highly modelled on the Apollo project 鈥 OK, we鈥檙e not putting a man on the moon, but it feels like it sometimes.鈥
With inputs from Reuters