(Motorsport-Total.com) – Marcin Budkowski will become the new team principal at Cadillac with immediate effect, although the Pole had previously held talks with “more than half” of the Formula 1 grid to find a position in the top class for himself. In the end, the 49-year-old decided precisely on the current season’s backmarker.
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“For me, it was important, when returning to such a leadership role, to be part of a project I believe in,” he says about the reasons. According to him, this includes several aspects, among them: “This project is very ambitious. It is supported by the TWG Group, which is extremely committed to motorsport.”
“General Motors is one of the largest automobile corporations in the world with a lot of ambition and financial resources – which was not always the case at my previous stops,” says Budkowski, thereby taking a jab at his former teams.
Most recently, he worked as Executive Director at Renault/Alpine, where he formed a dual leadership with Davide Brivio, sharing the team principal duties. However, in 2022, he left the Enstone racing team after only one year in his position.
Budkowski feels the trust
“What also gave me a lot of confidence for my start is the fact that all the people I talk to, and all those who will effectively sit on the board and in the top management of the team, are real motorsport people,” he continues.
“These are all people who live motorsport, understand motorsport, and are very closely connected to motorsport. I find that extremely refreshing because the conversations take place on a completely different level from the start.”
The current team principals of Formula 1
“There is this ambition, the desire to build a strong and ultimately competitive team – a squad that will be able to fight at the very front,” he enthuses.
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However, Cadillac also has a “real understanding” of how demanding the path is and what the schedules and direction look like. “Since Dan (Cadillac CEO Dan Towriss; editor’s note) and I have been talking, our visions and ideas about how things should develop are very, very similar.”
Does Cadillac have enough patience?
Budkowski continues: “I don’t feel that there will be a lot of pressure on me. Certainly, there will be expectations, which is logical and normal in such a role, but these expectations are not unreasonable and not completely detached from the reality of Formula 1.”
“Everyone understands the dimension of the challenge ahead of us, but the will is there to tackle it. And I am starting with exactly the same attitude,” he says.
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“To be honest: This part was crucial for me – beyond all the basics, the financial backbone, and so on – the attitude, the vision, and the fact that you sit at the table and talk with people who live, breathe, and fundamentally understand motorsport.”
Cadillac is at the bottom of the championship standings after eleven races without a single point. Nevertheless, the dismissal of team principal Graeme Lowdon came as a surprise, as it was already expected that Cadillac would be the slowest team. His work will now be continued by Budkowski at Towriss’s request.
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