Cadillac starts the upcoming Dutch GP at Zandvoort with a new team principal. Marcin Budkowski has taken over from Graeme Lowdon, who guided the American team from its inception to the F1 grid. For Budkowski, this is his first role as team principal, after previously holding technical positions at, among others, Prost, Ferrari, McLaren, and Alpine. The day before the first sessions, he discusses his ambitions for Cadillac.
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The 49-year-old Budkowski already met the organization behind Cadillac earlier this week and is using the race weekend in Zandvoort to further settle into the team. The future of the collaboration with Ferrari is also on the agenda. Cadillac currently uses Ferrari engines but has the ambition to eventually become an engine supplier itself in Formula 1. The current contract with the Scuderia expires after 2028.
Budkowski is currently satisfied with the collaboration with Ferrari, he said during a media session in Zandvoort. At the same time, the new team principal wants to quickly familiarize himself with the technical and commercial developments within Formula 1, also with a view to Cadillac’s future engine plans. “Yes, I also have experience working for a factory team, and that is what this team will become in a few years,” he confirmed. “Of course, when the time is right and we have more clarity about the engine regulations. Those are currently quite complex.”
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Confidence in Ferrari engine
In response to criticism of the current regulations, the premier class may switch early to a new formula. FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem is actively lobbying for a return to V8 engines. “I hope to have a few conversations this weekend with the higher authorities in the sport to catch up, because I haven’t participated in these kinds of talks for a while,” said Budkowski. In the short term, he hopes first to catch up with the rest of the field. Cadillac is the only team in Formula 1 that has not yet scored World Championship points in 2026.
“For now, we are satisfied with the relationship with Ferrari and the engine is competitive,” judged the fresh team principal. “I think the collaboration is going well. So that is how we stand for now: we are happy to have a partner like Ferrari.”
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