F1, Cadillac settles among the sharks
Cadillac surprised all insiders by changing the team principal mid-season in its first year in F1. Starting from the Dutch GP, the first event after the summer break, Marcin Budkowski will take over from Graeme Lowdon as the operational head of the team. No one had predicted the move by CEO Dan Towriss: perhaps not even Lowdon, who despite the differences that emerged in recent weeks believed he had done a good job building a team from scratch and bringing it to the track after a year.
Read more FIA, ease the sanctions on Russia: the anthem and national symbols can return
The British man was, in fact, informed of his dismissal only yesterday morning, when the announcements about his replacement were already ready. Towriss himself admitted this, describing the decision as “non-consensual“.
Towriss’s words
“The process started a few months ago. We had to think about what the next phase for Cadillac would be, how it would materialize, and the capabilities of the various parties involved. We were very satisfied with the conversation with Marcin and how our relationship evolved. Graeme and I talked about it just this morning (yesterday, ed.), so from this point of view it is a very recent conversation,” Towriss commented during Budkowski’s presentation press conference. “It was not a consensual decision, but there is no easy way to manage this transition within F1. Can you imagine the media uproar if Marcin had shown up for a factory visit? At that point, the situation would have become unstable. This, in fact, compresses the decision-making time and makes everything seem more abrupt.
But this is the nature of F1 and this is how it had to go“.
Read more Hadjar: “Verstappen impressive in the race, he is on a whole other level”
“It all depended on the results and how things evolved. Graeme and I disagreed on some points, but I can say I have immense respect for what has been achieved. We had been working for four years on planning, building, and fine-tuning all the elements of the team, but in light of the existing circumstances both within F1 and within the team, it was the right time to take a step forward“.
Budkowski’s presence in the Hungaroring paddock had not gone unnoticed, but at that time it was not interpreted as a prelude to a new role. His return to Cadillac could therefore be the result of a decision made even before Hungary, with Lowdon having managed the team in recent weeks as a separated figure. Or, worse, as a leader unaware that he had one foot and a half out of the team he had forged.
