“不是朝九晚五的巡航”——从零组建凯迪拉克赛道团队的回报性挑战
凯迪拉克在加入2026年F1赛程前一年开始寻找车队经理，很快锁定了哈斯车队长期任职的车队经理彼得·克罗拉。克罗拉寻求新挑战，并期待再次从零组建团队的机会。
“不是朝九晚五的悠闲差事”——从零组建凯迪拉克赛道车队的艰巨而值得的挑战
车队经理彼得·克罗拉敞开心扉，谈凯迪拉克成为一支受人尊敬的F1车队所经历的艰难历程
当全新加入的凯迪拉克开始寻找一位车队经理时——距离它加入2026年F1发车区还有整整一年——它不必花很长时间、也不必看很远，就锁定了合适的人选。
而在哈斯——F1上一支2016年才起步的车队——长期任职的车队经理彼得·克罗拉正在寻找新的挑战，再次从零开始打造一支车队的机会正合他的心意。
在与格雷姆·洛登进行早期沟通后，克罗拉开始了又一次全新的起点，在九个月的时间里从零开始组建一支赛道边团队。洛登最近被马尔钦·布德科夫斯基取代车队领队一职，但他一直是凯迪拉克在一级方程式中取得体面首秀背后的关键推动力。
"在那个时候，我已经在哈斯车队工作了九年多，我确实准备好迎接改变和新的挑战，我需要一些东西来重新点燃我对这项运动的热情，"克罗拉在最近的一级方程式比利时大奖赛期间、就在车队领导层变动之前告诉Motorsport.com。
"我喜欢组建车队这件事。这会带来巨大的自豪感，而且所有事情都在合适的时机恰好转到了一起。这是我第二次参与新车队的创建，大概间隔了十年，这真的非常棒。做这件事所带来的冲劲、自主权和兴奋感是无与伦比的。
"那九个月大概是我职业生涯中最愉快的时光，从面对一栋空楼和一个计划开始，并被赋予那样的权力去实现你自己的愿景。"
凯迪拉克车队的比赛团队经理彼得·克罗拉（右）与前任领队格雷姆·洛登、技术顾问帕特·西蒙兹以及瓦尔特利·博塔斯
比赛团队经理是一项职责范围极其广泛且多样的工作，首先要负责车队的整体组织事务。当赛事前的后勤工作处理完毕后，一旦赛道上的行动开始，这份工作就会转向更多与竞技相关的角色，其中包括与管理机构国际汽联（FIA）以及F1管理层进行联络。
但从零开始组建一支新车队，为这份工作增添了庞大的基础性层面。克罗拉借鉴了他在哈斯车队的经验，在凯迪拉克再次尝试这样的壮举——考虑到F1新加入者的稀缺性，这是一次非常难得的机会。
“那时候这项运动的面貌非常不同，”克罗拉回顾当年帮助哈斯车队从无到有时说道，“我们还处在伯尼·埃克莱斯顿的时代。规模是一件很重要的事，而且那也是我第一次做这种事，非常令人兴奋。在那段时间里，我和一些很出色的人共事，学到了很多。我认为这为我第二次做这件事打下了良好的基础。”
当被问及在哈斯车队学到的关键经验是什么时，克罗拉回答说：“我认为在那段时间里，赛历和车队所面临的要求都不断增长，我想确保我们以一支大车队的姿态来应对这件事，并且拥有出色完成这项任务所需的一切。
“在我看来，这从来都不是先从小规模做起再逐步壮大的问题。因为没有时间这样做，因为一旦你开始参赛，你能花在各个项目上的时间就会大大减少。所以对我来说，关键在于尽我们所能把每一件事做到最好，充分利用我们可用的预算，打造一支随时可以参赛并把它做好的车队。
“对我来说，这第一年需要有三大支柱。第一是体面地参与比赛。也就是说，我们准时出现在赛场，把所有该做的事情做对，保持低调。我认为我们做到了这一点。第二个支柱是可靠性，可以肯定的是，我们仍在为此努力。第三个是性能，我们也已经进入了这个阶段。所以，一切都在按我的预期进行。到目前为止，一切顺利，我想这么说。
当克罗拉在四月加入时，位于银石的工厂基地已经就绪，但那支将环游世界的赛道团队还只是一张白纸。随后，克罗拉与其他新加入的成员——车队物流经理皮特·西蒙斯和首席机械师内森·迪维——坐下来，共同规划通往墨尔本的道路。这涵盖了从采购车队所需的硬件设备，到为赛道运作、赛车组装、进站换胎等建立流程和最佳实践——对任何车队来说，这都是一份无尽的挑战清单，更不用说一群从未合作过的人了。
“我们采取了协作的方式，对2026年一支优秀车队应该是什么样子有着共同的愿景，”克罗利亚解释道。“没有现成的教科书，也没有关于如何做到这一点的指导方针，但我们非常努力地工作，而且对于我们想做的事情，几乎没有（如果有的话）任何分歧。
“我们只是知道它必须是最好的，但最重要的是，它必须到位。任何东西不到位都是没有借口的，因为我认为在那九个月里一切都是可以实现的，尤其是考虑到我们所拥有的自主权和预算。我们必须给供应商施加很大压力，但我们合作的是之前合作过的好供应商，是我们信任的人，这一点非常重要。知道你可以依靠谁，以及可以把谁真正逼到极限。”
彼得·克罗利亚此前曾在哈斯车队担任类似职务长达十年。
归根结底，任何一个组织都取决于其人员的素质，一级方程式（F1）也不例外，凯迪拉克组建了一支准备挑战既有势力的车队。考虑到其中涉及的漫长“园艺假”（gardening leave，即离职后的强制等待期），这绝非易事，尤其对于一支还没有任何往绩的车队来说更是如此。
“招聘这件事我们必须非常积极，因为人们都已经处于很长的离职通知期了，”克罗拉指出。“在这个行业里，没有人能在少于三个月内真正到岗，有些人甚至有六个月的离职通知期。”
“很多人是在2025年下半年加入的，根本没有什么蜜月期。他们必须立刻投入进去，把所有事情都干起来。每天都有大量的设备运到门口，工作量极其惊人。但每个人都真正迎接了这一挑战。”
不过，正如这种初创文化吸引了克罗拉加入凯迪拉克的故事一样，许多从F1最大车队跳槽过来的其他新员工似乎也有同感。对于车队将面临的挑战，以及绝不会有一帆风顺这回事，大家心里都很清楚。
“不，我认为如果你从一支成熟车队过来，却以为这里会和原来一样，那就是相当被误导了，”克罗拉点头表示。“我认为人们明白更大的图景：加入这样一个项目，它不会是梅赛德斯，也不会是法拉利，那些家伙已经运营了几十年。但与此同时，只要意识到有机会塑造我们自己的环境，我认为人们就看到了其中的吸引力。”
"从其他组织引进人才的关键，在于认清他们的优势、认清他们的经验，并把这些挖掘出来，打造我们共同的工作流程。从其他车队来到比赛团队和更广泛业务的申请者的质量和数量都非常令人振奋。但这需要一种能够迎接挑战的心态。这不会是一份朝九晚五的轻松工作。而是要深挖潜力，做好长期奋斗的准备。"
"我们所做的一切都没有超出我的预期。我原以为可能会更难一些，也可能以为在某些时候会更令人失望。"——克罗拉。
凯迪拉克在此过程中确实按时完成了每一项内部和外部期限，顺利开始了冬季测试，并在澳大利亚用其中一辆赛车完成了首场比赛。但随后在可靠性和运营方面出现的小毛病，加上在队尾被阿斯顿·马丁超越，进一步表明仅仅参赛只是起点。
"这些里程碑并不容易达成。每一个里程碑背后都真真切切地凝聚着血、汗和泪，"克罗拉回顾道，"它真的会变成你的生活。它必须如此，因为你每天要工作超长时间，还要求其他所有人也同样付出。我认为没有任何其他运动能像这样，当你真正造出一辆赛车并让它第一次驶上赛道时，能亲眼看到自己劳动的成果。那也许只是一个一月里银石赛道阴冷下雨的下午，但那感觉太棒了。它给了所有人一种巨大的成就感。
"毫无疑问，我们遇到了可靠性方面的问题。我认为这对任何人来说都不意外，但关键在于你如何面对它们、如何解决它们、以及如何从中恢复。对我来说，我们所做的一切与我预期的情况并没有脱节。我可能原本预计会更艰难一些，有时也可能预计会更令人失望一些。奥地利站大概算是我们的一个低谷，但这只是旅程的一部分。如果有人对此感到惊讶，那么我认为对我们来说经历这一切可能是一次有益的经验。"
随着凯迪拉克进入下一个阶段，前雷诺人士布德科夫斯基如今执掌车队，车队明年将开始启用位于印第安纳州费舍尔市的全新美国总部，克罗拉坚称那里将是一个"绝佳的运营基地"，同时在未来几个月里还将扩建位于银石赛道的英国基地。
"开始参赛并不是建设和发展这项事业的终点。它其实只是这段旅程中的又一个阶段，我认为要等到所有这些各自独立的部门都全面运转起来，我们才能真正看清我们在这里所做之事的规模，"他补充道。
"这里有一些非常有才华的人才，不过于自夸地说，我们做得不错，但我们才刚刚起步。"
英文原文
"No nine to five cruise" - The rewarding challenge of assembling Cadillac's trackside team from scratch
Race team manager Peter Crolla opens up on Cadillac's challenging journey to becoming a respected Formula 1 team
When brand-new entrant Cadillac started its search for a race team manager, still a full year removed from joining the 2026 Formula 1 grid, it didn't have to look very long, or far, to identify the right target.
Over at Haas, F1's previous start-up team in 2016, long serving team manager Peter Crolla had been looking for a new challenge, and the prospect of another chance to build a team from the ground up was ticking all the right boxes.
Following early conversations with Graeme Lowdon, who was recently replaced by Marcin Budkowski as team principal but has been the instrumental driving force behind Cadillac's respectable F1 debut, Crolla embarked on another fresh start building up a trackside team from scratch over a nine-month period.
"I'd been at Haas for over nine years at that point, and I was definitely ready for a change and a new challenge, and I needed something to get my excitement back for the sport," Crolla old Motorsport.com at the recent Belgian Grand Prix, before the team's leadership change.
"I love the element of setting up a team. There's a great deal of pride in that, and everything just aligned at the right time. It's my second new team start, sort of 10 years apart, and it was absolutely brilliant. The momentum, the autonomy and the excitement of doing that is unparalleled.
"That nine month period was probably the most enjoyable of my career, from starting with an empty building and a plan, and being given that authority to create your vision."
Cadillac race team manager Peter Crolla (right) with former team principal Graeme Lowdon, technical consultant Pat Symonds and Valtteri Bottas
Being a race team manager in a job with an extremely wide and diverse scope, starts with being responsible for the overall organisation of the race team. Once the pre-event logistics are out of the way, the job then shifts into a more sporting oriented role when the on-track action starts, which includes liaising with governing body the FIA and F1 management.
But starting a new team from zero adds a huge foundational layer to that, with Crolla drawing from his experience at Haas to have another go at Cadillac, which is a very rare opportunity in F1 given the scarcity of new entrants.
"The sport was a very different place back then," Crolla said, looking back on helping bring Haas to life. "We were still in the Bernie Ecclestone era. Scale was a big thing, and it was also my first time doing it. It was exciting. I worked with some great people there during that period, and learnt a lot. And I think that set me up well for doing it the second time round."
When asked what his key lessons were from Haas, Crolla replied: "I think the calendar and the requirements on a team have grown over the course of that period, and I wanted to ensure that we approached this as a big team and had everything we needed to accomplish the task well.
"It was, in my opinion, never a case of starting small and then growing. There isn't time for that because once you're out racing, the time you've got to spend on your projects is greatly decreased. So for me, it was about doing everything to the best of our abilities, maximising the budget we had available for it, and just creating a team that was ready to go racing and do a good job of it.
"For me, there were three pillars of how this first year needed to be. It was respectable participation. So, we show up on time, and we do all the right things, keep our heads down. I think we accomplished that. The next pillar was reliability, and for sure we're still working our way through that. And then the third is performance, and we're into that phase as well. So, it's happening as I thought it would. So far so good. I would say."
While the factory-based operation in Silverstone was already in place when Crolla joined in April, the trackside team that would travel the world was still a blank sheet of paper. Crolla subsequently sat down with fellow new hires, team logistics manager Pete Simmons and chief mechanic Nathan Divey, to map out the road to Melbourne. That ranged from acquiring the hardware the team needed to setting up procedures and best practices for trackside operations, car builds, pitstops - an endless list of challenges for any outfit, never mind a team of people that had never worked together before.
"We had a collaborative approach and a collective vision of what a good race team in 2026 needed to look like," Crolla explained. "There's no book. There are no guidelines on how to do this, but we worked very hard and there were very few, if any, disagreements on what we wanted to do.
"We just knew that it had to be the best, but most of all, it had to be there. There were no excuses for anything not being there because I think everything is achievable in those nine months, and especially given the autonomy and the budget we had. We had to put a lot of pressure on suppliers, but we worked with good suppliers that we'd worked with before. People that we trusted, and that was really important. Knowing who you can lean on and who you can really push to the limit."
Peter Crolla previously spent a decade at Haas in a similar role.
Ultimately, any organisation comes down to the quality of its people, and F1 is no different as Cadillac assembled a team ready to take on the establishment. Given the long gardening leave times involved, that was no easy feat, especially for a team that had no track record yet.
"Recruitment was something that we had to be quite aggressive on because people were already on long notice periods," Crolla pointed out. "Nobody's really available in this sport for any less than three months, and some were on six months' notice.
"A lot of people joined in the second half of 2025, and there was no honeymoon period. They had to get stuck in right away and get on with it all. There was a huge amount of equipment coming through the door every day, and a phenomenal workload. But everybody really rose to the challenge."
But just like how the start-up culture attracted Crolla to the Cadillac story, a lot of other hires from F1's biggest teams appeared to feel the same way. There was certainly no mistake on the challenges the team would face, and that there would be no such thing as an easy ride.
"No, I think that would be quite misguided if you came here from an established team and thought it was just going to be like that," Crolla nodded. "I think people understand the bigger picture that coming to a project like this, it's not going to be a Mercedes. It's not going to be a Ferrari where these guys have been in operation for decades. But at the same time, just recognising the opportunity of sculpting our own environment, I think people saw the attraction in that.
"The important part of bringing people in from other organisations is recognising their strengths, recognising their experience, and drawing that out of them to create our combined processes. The quality and quantity of applicants that came into the race team and the wider business from other teams has been really positive. But it needs that mentality that can rise to the challenge. This is not going to be a nine to five cruise. It's digging deep and being in it for the long run."
"Nothing that we've done is out of sync with how I expected it to be. I probably expected it to be a little bit harder, and probably expected it to be a little bit more disappointing at times." - Crolla.
Cadillac did meet every internal and external deadline along the way, making the start of winter testing and finishing its first race in Australia with one of its cars. But subsequent gremlins on the reliability and operational side, while being overtaken by Aston Martin at the rear of the field, have further underlined that simply showing up was just the start.
"Those were not easy milestones to reach. There was literally blood, sweat, and tears for all of them," Crolla reflected. "It turns into your life, really. It has to, because you're working super long days and you're asking everybody else to do the same. I think there's no greater sport where you're able to see the fruits of your labour when you actually build a car that then goes around the track for the first time. It might have been on a rainy cold afternoon in January in Silverstone, but it was mega. It gave everybody a great feeling of achievement.
"For sure, we've come across reliability matters. I don't think that was a surprise to anybody, but it's about how you approach them, how you tackle them, and how you recover from them. For me, nothing that we've done is out of sync with how I expected it to be. I probably expected it to be a little bit harder, and probably expected it to be a little bit more disappointing at times. Austria was probably a bit of a low point for us, but it's just part of the journey. If people were surprised by it, then I think it's probably a useful experience for us to go through."
As Cadillac transitions into its next phase, with former Renault man Budkowski now at the helm, the team will start using a brand-new US headquarters in Fishers, Indiana next year that Crolla insists will be an "amazing place to operate from", while also expanding its UK base in Silverstone in the coming months.
"Starting to go racing is not the end point of building and developing the business. It's really just another stage in that journey, and I think it won't be until all these discrete areas are fully operational that we actually see the scale of what we're doing here," he added.
"There's some really talented people here, and without being overly congratulatory on ourselves, we're doing a good job with it, but we're only just getting started."
Motorsport.com ·
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