Budkowski’s ‘debut’
The Dutch Grand Prix was the first for Marcin Budkowski in the role of team principal of Cadillac, which even before mid-August had surprisingly announced the entry of the Franco-Polish engineer into the team replacing Graeme Lowdon. A race weekend ended with a good result for Sergio Perez, still close to his best seasonal placement but insufficient to realistically approach the points zone.
Read more Safety Coach, the new Volvo app for safety
No points, but progress is evident
The former Red Bull driver actually crossed the finish line in 15th place after a race that started far from the starting grid, but with some aspects that could contribute to the team’s growth in its first year in F1: “I believe starting from the pit lane was the right decision and we made good progress during the race. Our pace was strong and, after being stuck behind Valtteri on the first lap, we managed to make the overcut work and take the lead. Unfortunately, we were a bit unlucky with the Virtual Safety Car, which took away an opportunity we were working for. However, we managed to finish ahead of Williams, so there are positive aspects to take from the race. We always give our best, we showed good pace and made progress“.
Read more Zandvoort 2026, the other podium
During the Dutch weekend, Cadillac, as happened in other events, had to surrender to reliability issues. At Zandvoort, the return to the pits to retire the car fell to Valtteri Bottas, with the team remaining in last place in the Constructors’ standings, still without points: “Unfortunately, we had a hydraulic problem that affected the rear wing. Checo had the same problem at the start of the weekend and now it penalized us a few laps from the end, which is a shame, but I am confident the team will solve it. In the race, the first stint was decent, we were close to Williams, but there are lessons to be learned from the second stint, which we will analyze in detail ahead of Monza.”
Read more Sainz in contact with Albon: “I apologize to him and the team. It was the last thing I wanted”
