SILVERSTONE, England (AP) 鈥� Formula 1’s newest outfit Cadillac fired its first team principal Graeme Lowdon and replaced him with former Alpine director Marcin Budkowski on Wednesday
Cadillac said the move was part of a 鈥減lanned leadership transition as the organization evolves from its initial build phase into the next stage of racing performance,” though it hadn’t previously signaled it intended to move on from Lowdon, who setting up the General Motors-backed team.
It comes a week before the resumes with the Dutch Grand Prix after the mid-season break.
鈥淚t was my decision. It wasn’t a mutual decision,鈥� chief executive Dan Towriss said. He added that he and Lowdon had talked about a transition happening 鈥渁t some point鈥� but that Lowdon was only informed of the decision on Wednesday morning.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no easy way to make this transition within Formula 1,鈥� Towriss said, citing the risk of leaks or undermining an existing leader. 鈥淚t makes it feel more abrupt than it would be otherwise. But it鈥檚 the nature of Formula 1 and it鈥檚 the way it had to happen.鈥�
Cadillac has yet to score a point in F1, with a best finish of 13th, and had been expected to struggle as a new team. The cars’ brakes have repeatedly overheated in recent races, forcing retirements.
Towriss said the decision to replace Lowdon wasn’t down to the recent reliability problems and that Budkowski would be tasked with a longer-term vision for the team.
___
AP auto racing:
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
