Cadillac counts down to its F1 debut with lessons from NASA and the ‘inverse Ted Lasso’

By James Ellingworth and Jenna Fryer

The clock is ticking until Cadillac joins the Formula 1 grid. Literally.

“On the wall of every office that we have is a countdown clock,” team principal Graeme Lowdon told The Associated Press in a recent interview. “It’s counting down to two things.”

One is the first “fire-up” of the car with its engine, and then the other is free practice at Cadillac’s first official F1 session in Melbourne, Australia in March next year.

It will be the start of a new mission for General Motors, and the end of a process to join F1 which included years of negotiations, a change of name and leadership, even a U.S. Justice Department investigation.

Ted Lasso in F1

As a British racing boss creating an American team, Lowdon feels like an “inverse Ted Lasso,” the fictional U.S. soccer coach in London.

Hired in part for his experience navigating the sport’s complex process for approving