Cadillac have confirmed a significant leadership change, with Marcin Budkowski appointed as the team's new Formula 1 Team Principal with immediate effect, replacing Graeme Lowdon. The switch, announced during the traditional summer break, marks a return to the F1 paddock for Budkowski, who previously served as Executive Director at Alpine until 2022 and has also worked with Prost, Ferrari, McLaren and the FIA.

'Always the plan' to change leadership

Lowdon, who was appointed Team Principal back in 2024, played a key role in building the brand-new outfit from a standing start. However, TWG Motorsports CEO Dan Towriss insisted that an eventual change in leadership was always part of the plan.

"Now is the right time," he explained. "We're at this inflexion point, with the summer break coming here, and Cadillac has gone through this initial build phase – just reminding everyone that we built this team from a standing start."

"While it's a short tenure from our first F1 season, Graeme and I have been building this team for nearly four years, and so it was always the plan to get it to this point and then really hand the baton off to someone else and set things in motion for this next stage of development."

Towriss confirmed the call was his alone, conceding it came "sooner than was expected." "It was my decision – it wasn't a mutual decision," he said. "I think really the process started a few months ago to explore, really thinking about what the next phase for Cadillac Formula 1 looks like... Obviously, we were delighted with the conversation with Marcin and how that relationship evolved."

Budkowski's priorities: reliability and process

After joking that his first priority would be "moving my stuff first to the UK," Budkowski set out his plans, preparing to visit the factory before heading to the Dutch Grand Prix. Chief among his tasks is addressing the reliability problems Cadillac have experienced during the first half of their maiden season.

"My first priority is going to be to listen and observe in the factory because I need to meet the people, I need to understand how they work together," he explained. "But also throughout my F1 experience I know that when a team is suffering reliability issues, as Cadillac have 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 link needs to be very, very strong."

The Pole also stressed the importance of a long-term strategy, warning there is "no more magic wand in F1." "You can't just come in and wave a magic wand and suddenly make a car more competitive. It's hard work, it's a lot of people having to work together, work in the same direction," he said. "My focus will be to align the team in the right direction, give them a vision of the future, and make sure we spend our time, resources and money on the right things."

Confidence in Sergio Perez for 2027

Amid continued 'silly season' speculation, the pair were quizzed on the importance of keeping Sergio Perez onboard following rumours linking the Mexican to Williams. Towriss voiced his confidence that Perez will stay.

"Checo's been a tremendous asset to the team," Towriss commented. "He's driven very well and certainly has pushed quite hard. I'm very confident that Checo is going to remain with Cadillac. We're not distracted by the Williams rumours for a second."

Towriss downplayed any immediate driver changes, adding: "There are no changes planned at the moment for '27, but things can always change... I know there have been some rumours out there with some of the young drivers. They're not substantiated, so that's not something I would focus on."

Budkowski echoed those sentiments, noting Perez's value beyond the cockpit. "He's not only been driving exceptionally well but he's been pushing the team very, very hard in the background," he said. "That's the kind of mindset that we want and that's also the kind of mindset that I will bring."

Why Budkowski said yes to Cadillac

Budkowski revealed his appointment was not a call "out of the blue," and that he had held interest from other teams during his time away from the sport.

"I've had discussions in the past years with more than half of the teams on the grid," he said. "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." He cited the backing of the TWG Group and General Motors, and the fact that those in the team's top leadership are "motorsport people."

Focus for the second half of the season

Budkowski reiterated that his short-term focus is getting to know the team and improving reliability, but stopped short of setting specific targets.

"I'm not going to set any objectives in terms of points or Q2s," he said. "We're going to push very hard to squeeze every bit of performance, every thousandth of a second we have, and then the circumstance is that our expert drivers will have to deliver the last bit."

Towriss added that reliability, performance and culture will be the priorities, which he hopes will prove "a real springboard for us going into '27."