Cadillac Sack Lowdon, Hire Budkowski as F1 Team Principal — SkimNews
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- Cadillac F1 dismissed Graeme Lowdon as team principal 11 races into the team's debut season and appointed former Alpine executive director Marcin Budkowski, who starts at the factory Monday
- Dan Towriss said the leadership change came 'sooner than expected' and was his decision, explicitly denying it was driven by performance or the team's 'teething issues' on track
- Cadillac recorded just one two-car race finish in the seven races before the summer break, with overheating brakes a recurring problem on the MAC-26, and Budkowski labelled fixing reliability 'very, very urgent'
- Towriss said he is 'very confident' Sergio Perez will remain at Cadillac for 2027 and dismissed Williams rumours linking the Mexican to a seat vacated by a potential Carlos Sainz exit
- Cadillac have been linked with Ferrari-backed Rafael Camara but Towriss said no 2027 driver changes are planned, while leaving the door open for a younger driver in future
- Budkowski brings experience from three years heading the FIA's technical department (to 2017) plus Renault/Alpine, making Cadillac his fifth F1 team, and Towriss said General Motors still plans to build a proprietary engine
Why it matters: A new team principal arrives at F1's newest entrant mid-season with an explicit mandate to fix a reliability crisis that yielded only one two-car finish in seven races, while ownership simultaneously insists the shake-up is strategic rather than punitive — meaning Budkowski inherits both a fragile car and a narrative he must protect as Cadillac prepare for their first full development cycle in 2027.
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