Cadillac Formula 1 team principal Graeme Lowdon has provided a major update on the team’s rapidly expanding infrastructure, revealing that work is still progressing on new facilities in the United States and United Kingdom while the organisation continues competing in its debut F1 season.
Cadillac currently operates across several locations, primarily from its Silverstone hub in the United Kingdom, while also using General Motors facilities in North Carolina and Michigan and Toyota’s wind tunnel in Cologne, Germany. The distributed structure has allowed the new Formula 1 team to get up and running, but Cadillac is now investing heavily in permanent facilities intended to strengthen its long-term operation.
Cadillac F1 factory in Fishers takes shape
To reduce the amount of movement between its various sites, Cadillac is constructing a dedicated Formula 1 facility in Fishers, on the outskirts of Indianapolis. At the same time, its future power-unit division is developing its own facility in the Charlotte area.
“We’re still building,” Graeme Lowdon explained. “It’s like building the aeroplane while you’re flying it, or building the ship while you’re sailing it.”
The scale of the project means Cadillac is effectively developing its physical infrastructure at the same time as it learns how to operate as a Formula 1 team.
“Next to my desk there are steel-toe boots and a safety helmet, and we go out to visit the construction sites,” Graeme Lowdon said. “There’s a very, very big one in Indianapolis and then a smaller one at Silverstone. And obviously the power-unit company is also building the facility down in Charlotte.”
Cadillac’s long-term power-unit programme represents another major part of the project. The team is initially competing with Ferrari power units while General Motors builds the infrastructure required for its own future Formula 1 engine operation. The relationship with Ferrari has already played an important role in Cadillac’s preparations, including Cadillac’s early running with its Ferrari-powered package.
Cadillac continues aggressive F1 recruitment drive
Building new factories is only one part of Cadillac’s expansion. The organisation is also continuing to recruit personnel at a rapid rate as it develops the workforce required to compete against established Formula 1 teams.
“In the meantime, we’re still recruiting people at a frantic pace,” Graeme Lowdon continued. “There are still a huge number of projects going on. The second quarter of this year has also allowed us, in a way, to start understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the MAC-26, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the team from an operational point of view.”
That learning process is particularly important for a completely new Formula 1 operation. Established teams have years or even decades of procedures, infrastructure and accumulated knowledge behind them, while Cadillac is having to develop many of those systems while simultaneously racing against them.
Lowdon says every day must bring progress
Graeme Lowdon stressed that Cadillac is approaching its debut season as a continuous learning exercise, with the team attempting to identify weaknesses as quickly as possible and improve them without interruption.
“We like to say that every day is an opportunity to learn. If it’s a day when we haven’t learned anything, then it’s a wasted day,” he explained. “So we’re simply trying to identify every area where we can improve and keep doing that constantly, without stopping. At the moment there is really an enormous amount to do, and there are also so many things that are new.”
The MAC-26 is therefore only one element of the wider Cadillac project. Understanding how to operate efficiently during a Grand Prix weekend, building up departments and refining internal processes are all part of the same challenge.
New Cadillac simulator now being installed
There is also significant progress at the new Fishers facility. Graeme Lowdon hinted that further announcements regarding the American base are expected soon, although Cadillac is not yet ready to reveal all the details.
“There will be some announcements shortly. We still have to wait a few days, though. The simulator, for example, is being installed right now as we speak.”
A modern simulator is a particularly important resource for a Formula 1 team, helping with car development, set-up preparation and driver work away from the circuit. Bringing that capability into Cadillac’s developing infrastructure represents another step towards reducing its reliance on a dispersed network of facilities.
Asked whether operations at Fishers would begin next year, Graeme Lowdon concluded: “Broadly speaking, yes. The whole construction project is at a very advanced stage, but it is still an enormous project.”
Cadillac’s first Formula 1 season is therefore taking place while much of the organisation behind it is still growing. The MAC-26, its race operation, its recruitment programme and its new facilities are all developing simultaneously, making 2026 as much about constructing the foundations for the future as achieving immediate results on track.
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