The Cadillac Formula 1 Team sent shockwaves through the paddock this past week by abruptly replacing its inaugural Team Principal, Graeme Lowdon, with former Alpine executive Marcin Budkowski just 11 races into its debut 2026 season.
While the mid-summer break shakeup appeared sudden to outsiders, Cadillac F1 CEO Dan Towriss revealed that the transition had been months in the making. The leadership swap is designed to spearhead the team’s shift from its foundational “build phase” into a highly competitive performance era. To lead that charge, Towriss sought a leader with a heavy technical background who could seamlessly bridge the gap between Cadillac’s UK trackside operations and its massive engineering resources at General Motors in the US.
For Budkowski, who brings over two decades of experience with Ferrari, McLaren, and the FIA, the decision to return to the pit wall wasn’t made lightly. Despite holding talks with over half the F1 grid in recent years, the 49-year-old Polish engineer was ultimately sold by Cadillac’s massive ambitions, the strong financial backing of TWG Group and GM, and a boardroom filled with genuine motorsport veterans.
Here is what the two leaders said to the media in a recent online session regarding the hiring process, their shared vision, and Budkowski’s immediate priorities.
Dan Towriss on why Budkowski was chosen:
“I think as we look to the future, I think a model with a very strong technical team principal. And I think as you look at Marcin’s background, what he’s accomplished in Formula 1, he certainly fits the bill, but also combined with very strong leadership.”
“I think the time that Marcin’s had away from Formula 1, I think, provides him a perspective to look at both how Formula 1 is evolved and developed, look at the resources across General Motors, TWG and the like, and really look at what the future, what a future vision of a Formula 1 team can look like, the role of AI and those kinds of things.”
“Marcin’s technical background does give him a unique perspective. But even away from his technical background, I think he just demonstrates he’s a strong leader, and he’s a great communicator.”
Marcin Budkowski on why he accepted the role:
“I’ve had discussions in the past years with more than half of the teams on the grid, and some of them more advanced and some less advanced. But for me, it was important, if I come back to this kind of leadership role, to be in a project that I believe in.”
“This project is very ambitious. It’s backed by TWG Group, which is extremely involved in motorsport, but General Motors is one of the biggest car manufacturers’ with funding, which wasn’t always the case in my previous ventures.”
“All the people who effectively will be in the board of the team and in the top leadership of the team are motorsport people. They’re all people who live motorsport, who understand motorsport, who’ve been very exposed to motorsport.”
Marcin Budkowski on his immediate priorities:
“My first priority is going to be to listen, honestly, listen and observe in the factory, because I need to meet the people, I need to understand how they work, how they work together, how the various individuals and departments work together.”
“I know that when a team is suffering reliability issues, as Cadillac had during the first half of the season, it’s a huge risk of creating a disconnect between the trackside operations and the factory. And that needs to be very, very strong in any Formula 1 team; that link needs to be very, very strong.”
“I mean, these guys are sending spaceships to Mars in the future. So, Formula One, because of the expertise, is only in the so-called Formula One Valley, but I think there’s a lot more to leverage there on the US side.”