Meet Cadillac's New Team Principal: Marcin Budkowski
Marcin Budkowski returns to Formula 1 as Cadillac's Team Principal, bringing a wealth of experience from his tenure at Alpine and other roles. His leadership will debut at the upcoming Dutch Grand Prix.
Cadillac has welcomed a familiar face back to the Formula 1 paddock with the appointment of Marcin Budkowski as their new Team Principal. Budkowski, who previously served as Executive Director at Alpine, brings a wealth of experience from his various roles across the F1 landscape.
Budkowski is no stranger to the sport. He began his F1 career in 2001 with Prost Grand Prix, founded by the legendary Alain Prost. Following this, he spent six years at Ferrari before moving to McLaren in 2007. At McLaren, he worked both trackside and at their Woking headquarters, contributing to Lewis Hamilton's 2008 World Championship win and eventually rising to Head of Aerodynamics by 2012.
After a stint at the FIA, where he was involved in technical and sporting divisions and played a key role in introducing the halo safety device, Budkowski returned to the team side with Renault. There, he was part of a leadership trio with Laurent Rossi and Davide Brivio during the team's transition to Alpine. Under this leadership, Alpine celebrated a Grand Prix victory with Esteban Ocon at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix and secured a respectable fifth in the Teams' Championship.
However, Budkowski's time at Alpine ended in early 2022, making way for several leadership changes. Despite stepping away from a full-time team role, he remained a regular presence in the paddock, working with Viaplay.
Now, Budkowski steps into his largest role yet as he takes over from Graeme Lowdon at Cadillac. His experience and technical insight are expected to steer the team in a promising direction. Fans can look forward to seeing how Budkowski's leadership unfolds at the Dutch Grand Prix, marking his official return to the F1 grid.