'The decisions you make in wartime are different' – Budkowski outlines vision for Cadillac's next phase

The Formula 1 summer break was enlivened by last week’s news that Cadillac’s founding Team Principal Graeme Lowdon had been replaced by Marcin Budkowski.

The decision of TWG Motorsports CEO Dan Towriss came as a surprise to plenty, including drivers Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, with both racers signed by Lowdon for the new team’s first year in what was a two-way show of faith.

However, F1 is a sport that is built on change, progress and development in all areas and, while personally sorry to see Lowdon go, the two drivers have quickly accepted that the team has to find a way to move forwards.

“I think big change like this in the middle of the season is always initially surprising,” Bottas said in Zandvoort on Thursday. “But then speaking with Dan, he explained to me all the reasons [behind] this change, and I respect that. I think if we just keep everything the same, we're never going to progress. So we've got to change some things.

“Obviously, it's a real shame that it was Graeme who got out because, first of all, he's a friend of mine. But I also think he's done a great job setting up the team and getting ready to be on the grid in the first race.

“So my hat off for that. But at the same time, also welcoming Marcin. I don't know him that well from the past, I've seen him around, but for sure in the next days we're going to spend a lot of time together.”

Expanding on the decision, Bottas said: “I think something needed to change. Some issues we've had have been dragging along. But I didn't maybe quite expect that it's such a big change – I was maybe expecting more stuff happening at the factory.

“But some of these things, we as drivers don't see what needs to be changed sometimes when it comes to these things, because we are obviously very focused on the driving, on the performance, just giving our feedback. We are not the people who structure the team. That's not our job.”

Like Bottas, Perez is also looking to the future and the progress being made.

"I think Graeme has played a tremendous part in bringing Cadillac where it is now, together with Jim [Campbell, General Motors VP for Performance and Motorsports] and Dan,” said the Mexican. “I think he's part of the history of the team, and I wish him well on whatever comes next.

“On Marcin, I think it's really exciting. I haven't been spending much time with him, but I think it was time to change and I think it shows that, although it's only our first year, Cadillac is really willing to move forwards this team as quickly as possible. We hope that with the new leadership that can come soon.”

Budkowski now has to prove that he is the man for the job. It won’t be easy, as Lowdon is respected within the team and around the paddock, with everyone appreciating just what a mammoth task it was to start from scratch and make it to the first race of the 2026 season.

“There's been a change of leadership at the head of the team,” Budkowski said on Thursday morning. “It's been a decision made by the top leadership and the owners and the shareholders of the team. I'm honoured to have been picked to lead that following phase.

“I have immense respect and admiration for what's been achieved so far by Graeme for building this team from the ground up, recruiting his people, and actually showing up and racing, and with a level of competitiveness that I think is reasonable for a new team.

“Yes, there are glitches. Yes, there are reliability issues that maybe are not the level you expect from a Formula 1 team. But there's a huge complexity in some areas, and the brake area is one of them.

“It's one of these situations when you fix one thing, something else goes wrong, and you learn as you as you do it. It's painful. At this stage, we're really in the learning phase. We need the mileage, we need the laps to get as much learning as possible, as much data as possible.”

Budkowski had his first taste of what he’s taking on when, on Monday, he was given his initial tour of the brand-new Silverstone base, with staff officially moving in that very day. After meeting and greeting his new colleagues he had a couple of days to get an initial understanding of what the issues are before flying to Amsterdam on Wednesday evening ahead of being plunged into his first race weekend at Zandvoort.

“I'm focusing on listening and understanding how the team operates,” he said. “Who's there, how it's structured, how it's organised, the processes in place, starting to get a feel for the areas that need prioritising or need improving.

“I've had two days of proper work. I'm going to need a bit more time, but I must say I'm impressed having seen where the people were working before, and knowing how tight the deadlines were to build a team from scratch, to design, build, homologate a car in time for testing, and to go testing.”

Budkowski also acknowledged that moving Cadillac forward is a very different challenge to the one Lowdon faced in building it up from scratch.

“These guys have done a cracking job, with Graeme and the team,” he said. “I'm impressed. At the same time, recruiting, growing, getting everybody in place. So there's a lot that has been done there.

“Equally, in the time they had available, they had to take some shortcuts. And these shortcuts, some of them are biting us a little bit. For me, these guys have gone to war, and the decisions you make in wartime are different to the decisions you make in peacetime.

“And I think if they had three years instead of one to do it, they would have done it a little bit differently. In some areas, they would have done it better. But it's not a criticism, because what they've done in the time they had, I don't think there's a lot of people who could have done that.

“So it's a great foundation. It's a great starting point. There are things that are actually very, very good. There are things that need attention, and also there's potentially some reprioritisation to be done in terms of what's important.”