Cadillac have appointed Marcin Budkowski as team principal, with the former Alpine executive director taking over from Graeme Lowdon. The American squad confirmed the change on 12 August in an official announcement from Indianapolis and Silverstone, saying Budkowski will lead its on-track operation from the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort on 21-23 August, the first round after Formula 1’s summer break.
“Marcin’s appointment marks another important step in the continued evolution of the Cadillac Formula 1 Team,” said Dan Towriss, the team’s chief executive. “From the beginning, our goal has not been simply to participate in Formula 1, but to build a next-generation team capable of competing at the very front.”
Cadillac described the appointment as part of a “planned leadership transition” as the organisation “evolves from its initial build phase into the next stage of racing performance”. Towriss also paid tribute to Lowdon, who had led the project since before the team’s arrival on the grid: “We’re grateful to Graeme Lowdon for his leadership and the role he played in forming the Cadillac Formula 1 Team from the ground up.”
Budkowski’s route back to the paddock
The 49-year-old Polish-French engineer arrives with more than two decades of Formula 1 experience spanning engineering, regulatory and executive roles. He held senior positions with Prost, Ferrari and McLaren before joining the FIA, then moved to the Renault-owned squad in 2018, where he served as executive director and board member and helped steer the team’s transition into the Alpine era, as Formula 1’s official website noted. He left Alpine in 2022 and had since been working as a television pundit in Poland before returning to the paddock in his new role.
Budkowski set out his priorities in the announcement: “This is a phase of huge opportunity for the team, one that will be defined by a clear objective: maximizing car development within the cost cap.” He added: “My focus will be on aligning our people, tools and information flow so the right decisions are made quickly, and the performance of the car improves every time we go racing. It is a privilege to be leading Cadillac Formula 1 Team’s on-track efforts, starting in Zandvoort next weekend.”
A leadership change in Cadillac’s debut season
Cadillac entered Formula 1 this year as the grid’s 11th team, racing with General Motors power units under the 2026 technical rules, the regulations that have already prompted fixes which the FIA said were delayed by manufacturer vetoes rather than planning failures, as we explained in our look at the 2026 car changes. The team ended the first half of its campaign at the Hungarian Grand Prix, where Lando Norris won after Oscar Piastri’s race unravelled, and its season has also taken in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, where Charles Leclerc held off George Russell, as covered in our Hungarian Grand Prix and British Grand Prix reports.
Budkowski takes charge with the team focused on closing the gap to the midfield ahead of the second half of the season, beginning with the Dutch Grand Prix. Practice at Zandvoort gets under way on 21 August, with Budkowski in the garage as Cadillac begin the next stage of their build.
