No “Schools Out Forever” jokes here, its only
Summer break for Formula 1…
Late Wednesday night, I heard the announcement
of Cadillac F1 appointing Marcin Budkowski as its new team principal.
Surprisingly in the Detroit News Auto section.
I’ll admit that I’d never heard of this Budkowski
Chap, who’s 49 years old. Having a long track record in formula 1. Reportedly
including senior roles with Prost, Ferrari, McLaren, the FIA and most recently
Renault/Alpine. Serving as an executive director. (2017-2022)
The press release is full of the typical boiler
plate accolades, with Dan towriss, head of TWG Motorsports and Cadillac formula
1 Team CEO thanking former team principal Graeme Lowdon.
“We’re grateful to Graeme Lowdon for his leadership
and the role he played in forming the Cadillac Formula 1 Team from the ground
up. His contributions helped establish a strong foundation in our build-up
phase, and we thank him for his commitment and wish him well.”
As Budkowski’s appointment is part of their
“planned” management “upgrade”, with Budkowski tapped to guide the team forward
to more consistent reliability, score crucial F1 Constructors points and
progress towards competing for “glory”. The latter being my own words…
Lowdon, now 61 years old, was previously CEO of the long forgotten Virgin and Marussia F1 teams. And I have no idea if this was planned all along, or simply Towriss showing another valued team member, a la Michael Andretti the door? You make the call.